Tomorrow is another day
by Won't-wear-a-Halo
Summary: Eleven years ago they first met. Eleven years ago they fell in love. But he had to leave. And she knew he would not return to her. But now their paths cross again and all they had come to know will change.
1. Prologue

**Tomorrow is another day

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**

_Prologue_

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"just tell me before you go, all right?" she mumbled and pulled his arm closer around her waist.

"Before I go? I never said I was leaving!" he replied confused.

"But you are, aren't you? You came here to tell me you'll be leaving soon" she countered and he sighed, there was no denying it.

"Yes" he sighed. He really wished he never had to go, but this wasn't his home and it never would be. He could not possibly stay. Besides, his old life needed attention. He needed closure.

"Well, just tell me before you go" she said, wishing he could stay forever.

"That's it?"

"Well I always knew you wouldn't stay forever. I just never thought I'd care whether you were around or not."

His fingertips traced imaginary lines on her arm as his other arm pulled her closer to his chest. He knew he had to leave soon, go back to his old life and forget about this girl. He also knew, that it was the hardest thing he'd ever have to do in his life. When he left home, he figured he's take his sweet time coming back. When he left, he just needed some time to recollect his thoughts. All his believes had seemed to be a lie and he no longer knew what to believe in, who to believe in.

He never imagined that he'd meet Angela on his way. A muggle no less. But a muggle he had started to believe in without a doubt. She changed everything for him, but still he had to let her go.

She could never know where he came from, who he was or better yet _WHAT _he was. That would jeopardise his whole world and hers in the process. He had long ago figured it would be too dangerous for her to know who he was. And so he planned to leave. When the light would touch the grounds behind her small house, he would skip town and leave her life forever.

It was still early when she felt him stir. Slowly she opened her eyes and saw him step out of the bed and collecting his clothes. Then he moved into the bathroom and she could hear him turn on the shower. Without asking, she knew that this was the moment he would leave her behind. She sighed, stepped out of bed herself and opened the curtains.

The sun just began to show it's rays, far away, only just reaching above the mountains. Within minutes it would reach over the mountains and wash over the fields of sunflowers, corns and what not. Instinctively she knew he'd be gone by the time the sun reached her house. The water was turned off and she prepared herself to say goodbye. She had never been very good at that. Still she would try to keep it together, for him.

He walked out of the bathroom, fully clothed and Angela smiled at him, tears brimming her eyes. He smiled back and walked over, pulling her close once more. His grey eyes looking into her own brown ones. His lips found hers and for one sweet moment they met in a feathery light kiss. A goodbye-kiss, Angela thought sadly.

He pulled away and she saw the tears in his eyes, making her unable to hold her own. He offered a smile, but anyone who saw it would have seen it was a lie. He grabbed his duffel bag and walked towards the door, not looking back. That was until she called out to him.

"Draco!" she cried and he froze in the doorway.

"Yes?" he asked softly.

"Will I ever see you again?" she asked him. She had been afraid to ask that question, but she knew she had tot do it. She knew the answer, deep inside her heart, but she had to hear him say it. She needed him to make it final.

"No, Angie, I don't think you ever will" and with that he closed the door and walked out of her life.


	2. Chapter 1

**Tomorrow is another day

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**

_Chapter 1 _

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_11 years later

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_

"Cassy! It's time to go!" Angela called out to her daughter and smiled as she saw the young girl run down the stairs.

"Mom, are you sure about this?" Cassy asked her mother for the millionth time.

"I am sure that if we don't take this chance, we'd regret it. Now grab your coat while I put that suitcase in the car." Angela laughed at the beautiful girl she called her own, knowing she could not show her own unease.

When Cassy got a letter three weeks ago, she never imagined it could change their lives so utterly. Ever since she was born, Angela knew her daughter was different, special. Still Angela never imagined the reason behind that difference could be magic.

_Three weeks ago their lives changed so drastically that neither one could really grasp it yet. _

_During the day Cassy had been home, bored out of her mind, waiting for her mother to come home. They had only just moved to a new town and friends were hard to make during the summer holiday. After all, most kids were gone, celebrating this time of year somewhere warm, sunny and 'unenglish'. _

_When an owl swooped down on the lawn before their house, she thought it had been injured and she jumped up to see what was wrong. Instead of seeing an injured bird however, she just saw a letter in the grass where the bird had been only moments before. _

_The moment Cassy read the letter she laughed and blamed it on some kids in the neighbourhood. Someone must have thought it was funny to pull a prank on the new kid. She didn't even bother showing it to her mother, she just threw it in the dustbin. _

_The next day however, another letter came and though Cassy had thrown it out again, this time she wasn't so sure that her mother would not find out. After three days of throwing the letters out, the weekend rolled around and this time her mother was the one to spot the owl first. Angela read the letter and asked Cassy about it, who told her she figured it was a prank. Though Angela wasn't so sure about this, she tossed the letter aside and moved on. She would've forgotten about the letter, if that night they weren't surprised by the visit of a strange but kind woman. _

_She wore long deep green robes, small glasses and a tight bon on her head. Though Angela was confused, her intuition told that this woman wasn't dangerous. And so far her intuition hadn't been wrong. The woman introduced herself as Professor McGonagal and she held out a copy of the letter Angela had tossed aside earlier that day. The letter stated that Cassiopeia Clarke was in fact a witch and that she was invited to join the education for wizarding and witchcraft at the best school in the world, Hogwarts. _

_This time Angela read it with more care, before she and her daughter started laughing loudly together. This was far too strange to be true. Wasn't it? _

_But Mrs. McGonagal asked them to recall moments where Cassy did unexplainable things. Things that could not be explained by what they knew. Things that could very well be magic. This made them both doubt. Still it wasn't until Mrs. McGonagal showed them some magic of her own, that Angela started to believe her. When Mrs McGonagal turned her teacup into a bird and back, Angela couldn't help but jump a little. _

_She was surprised, though not really shocked. In the back of her mind she had always known there was such a thing as magic, she just never thought that she'd encounter it herself. Or that her beautiful daughter would posses it. _

_That night McGonagal helped Cassy with a small spell herself. Proving her that she truly did posses magic. Cassy was still sceptical, thinking this woman was playing tricks with her mind. But Angela suddenly understood her daughter better. And she smiled. Her daughter was even more special, then she had always thought she was. And perhaps Cassy would fit in this world Mrs. McGonagal described. _

_After that night it all went so fast. Angela started making preparations for Cassy to go to Hogwarts, while Cassy was still trying to understand exactly what this discovery meant. Mrs. McGonagal had told Angela that she could get someone to help her with everything. An old student, someone with knowledge of the muggle world. Of course, Angela had no idea what that meant, but she accepted all the help she could get. The offered help cam in the form of a lovely woman called Hermione Weasley. She would help the small family with their shopping and basic information. _

_Hermione came to explain how, sometimes, wizards and witches came from muggle families. Of course after that, she had to explain what muggles were exactly. And throughout all the absurdities of the situation Hermione managed to calm them down. She promised that she'd lead them through the entire process. She even promised that Cassy would not be alone, for her own daughter Rose would be entering her first year as well. At least they could sit together for the train ride. _

_When Hermione took them shopping for school supplies in London, the women were surprised to see how big the wizardingcommunity actually was. The streets were filled with people in robes and occasionally dressed in what they considered 'normal' clothing. _

"_Well I guess we can easily spot out the muggles" Angela muttered as she looked around a little bewildered. She wished that they would not stand out so much, but the people in robes were obviously in bigger numbers. Hermione just laughed and shook her head. _

"_Trust me, it's not so bad" she said._

"_How do you reckon?" Angela inquired._

"_I'm muggle born and I fit right in, even though I wasn't the easiest kid to hang out with" she said smiling and Angela smiled back. Cassy never had been very good at making friends, she was always just a little different. But she had hope that those differences would fall away as soon as she was amongst other wizards and witches. _

Angela got out of her trance and spotted an annoyed looking Cassy.

"Mom, you wanted me too hurry, so I could watch stare into space?" she said annoyed and Angela laughed.

"No, let's go. Hermione is meeting us with her family" she said and opened the door to the car, getting in.

"What if Rose doesn't like me?" Cassy asked, scared about what was to come.

"Then you'll just be polite and find different friends as soon as you get to Hogwarts." Angela reassured her daughter. Secretly praying Rose would be a wonderful friend for Cassy.

As they got to Kings Cross, Angela quickly parked the car and grabbed Cassy's trunk.

"I can take it mom" Cassy offered and Angela brushed the comment aside.

"You'll have to carry it when you get there, I'll take it now" she said and Cassy just nodded. They spotted Hermione with a flock of red-haired people around her. Angela smiled, she'd seen photo's of Hermione's family and realised how easy they were to spot when they were together. Hermione waved them over and Angela quickly ushered Cassy in the right direction.

"When this is all over, we're going to get some tea." Hermione whispered to Angela as they walked into Kings Cross station. She had noticed the other mother was quite nervous and smiled. She could still remember the tension she felt, when she first went to Hogwarts. Perhaps she could offer some reassurance to her new found friend.

"I'd like that" Angela replied, feeling rather nauseous right now. She was sending her little girl off to a school she had never heard off. And the only comfort she had was in people she knew for only three weeks. Though her intuition told her it was all right, she could not help but be scared. The last time she trusted anyone this easily, she was left heartbroken and she did not need to revisit those days.

But the entire family was so kind and she was quickly introduced to everyone. Besides Hermione and her family, her sister-in-law was there as well with her own family. Ginger seemed to be a theme. Ginny Potter was just as kind as Hermione had been, just a little more sceptical about things then Hermione. Still she answered any questions there were and when she thought Angela and Cassy weren't listening, she instructed her own children to be kind to Cassy. Angela smiled as she looked at her daughter. Whether they'd befriend her she didn't know, but at least she'd be treated kindly.

"When we get to platform 9 and 10 we need to use some magic." Victiore explained to the scared looking Cassy.

"Really?" Cassy asked bewildered. Did she have to do something already? Like a test, that if she failed, she'd not be allowed to board the train?

"Yes, well sort of." Victiore now said and Rose sighed.

"She means to say we have to walk through a wall. So _you_ don't actually have to do magic just yet" Rose explained now and Cassy sighed, feeling a little relieved.

"Don't worry, Vicky's never really clear. It's not just you" Rose whispered jokingly and Cassy could feel a smile form on her face. Rose wasn't too bad. Perhaps this would actually not be so scary.

"Goodbye!" Angela called as she saw the train move out of the station slowly. Tears trickled down her face and she felt Hermione rub her back gently.

"Try not to worry too much, she'll be fine." Ginny said and Angela smiled at her gratefully. Hermione handed her a tissue and Angela batted her eyes quickly. Embarrassed to have let her emotions get the best of her. Then the group gathered their stuff and rounded up the younger children before walking back towards the exit.

But just as they reached it, Angela came to a halt. Her breathing stopped and her heartbeat quickened. Hermione stood still next to her and followed her gaze. She could not understand what would upset the young mother next to her so greatly.

But when she saw what Angela was watching, her spine tingled and she knew this could not be good.


	3. Chapter 2

**Tomorrow is another day

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**

_Chapter 2_

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Angela couldn't move, she couldn't breath and for a moment she thought she'd lost all mobility in her limps. She saw the flock of white blond hair and the pointed face beneath it. She could almost see the beautiful grey eyes that were now hidden from her sight. And as soon as those eyes caught sight of her, she wasn't the only one unable to move. The man before her was no other then Draco Malfoy. Older than she remembered him, yes, but the same man, there was no doubt about it.

They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, the world around them was still (or so it seemed anyway). It wasn't until Draco started speaking that the sounds and images came rushing back and Angela remembered they weren't alone and that this was not a dream. She had dreamed about seeing him again, so many times. Bit this was nothing like her dreams. This was reality. And reality never turned out as pretty as dreams did.

"Angela?" he said confused as a woman, Angela figured would be his wife, tried to drag him along.

"Draco" Angela replied, not really knowing what to say. She was only just grasping onto the fact that this was not her dream. He was not going to take her in his arms and everything was not just going to be all right. And it wasn't just them two, well three with Cassy, to consider. He was married now.

"Draco, darling, who is this?" his wife asked with a cold tone in her voice. She eyed Angela as if the woman was pure venom and Angela could not blame her. She wouldn't want her husband to be so shocked to see some other woman. If she ever got a husband that is.

"Astoria this is Angela, Angela this is Astoria, my wife" Draco mumbled, not leaving Angela's face.

Hermione looked at her new friend and knew she had to do something, Angela was obviously not wrapping her thoughts around this new encounter. She needed some time. And Hermione needed some explanations. How could Angela know Draco Malfoy of all people.

"Well this is certainly a surprise," Hermione started, "I wish we could stay and chat, but we've got to go. Perhaps we could all catch up soon." She added and grabbed Angela's hand, pulling her along.

Behind them they could hear Astoria's forceful questions and Hermione just looked at Angela's face. It seemed to be set in stone. As if the shock locked all her muscles and this was how it would always be. Only the hand Hermione was holding showed signs of life. Angela was holding on for dear life, painfully pinching Hermione, but she was not about to speak of it. She hardly felt it through the confusion consuming her.

When they reached the exit of the station Ginny got the remaining kids together before she called the men.

"We're going home, Hermione will take care of this" she told Harry and Ron, while they just stared at their new acquaintance in surprise.

"What did just happen?" Ron asked and Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Well we don't know yet, now take Hugo and apparate to our house." Ginny said and Ron just shook his head. He held onto his son Hugo and focused on the house of his sister.

"If she knows Draco, are we sure we can trust her?" Harry asked and Ginny scolded at him.

"This is not the time, all right!" she whispered and pulled Lily towards her, before apparating herself. Questions were swarming through her mind, but she knew Hermione would work it all out and inform her. If she could anyway. Hermione already considered Angela a friend and Ginny knew she would not betray her trust. Still Ginny just trusted everything would be explained.

Hermione stood still next to a still unmoving body of Angela. She shook her lightly and Angela began to cry.

"Now don't cry. It can't be that bad!" Hermione said but Angela shook her head.

"It's worse!" she muttered and Hermione wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"hold onto my arm, I'm going to get us out of here" Hermione said and apparated them to her own humble abode. Angela looked around, nausea overcoming her. She wondered how they got here, and what here was exactly.

"I'm sorry, I thought it would be better without a warning. Sit down" Hermione said and gently pushed Angela down on a chair and went to fetch some tea. All the while the tears didn't stop coming. Slowly Angela raised her eyes and looked around the house. The room she was in was small and cosy. And it smelled like freshly baked cookies. The walls were littered with drawings of children and in a bookcase she saw pictures. She just didn't have the energy to get up and inspect them. She felt completely drained.

"Here you go, it'll calm your nerves a bit" Hermione said handing Angela a cup of tea. Angela just smiled gratefully and took a few sips.

"Thanks for getting me out of there" she said softly and Hermione just nodded, before sitting down as well.

For the next few minutes they sat in complete silence. Hermione waited patiently, while Angela gathered her thoughts. Angela knew she had to tell her new friend something. She just didn't know what to say exactly. She still didn't understand completely.

After the last time she'd seen Draco, she tried to make herself believe it had all been a dream. And though since then she received quite some proof that it had all happened. It hadn't been a dream. She never imagined seeing him again. Years ago she had decided that it would be foolish to wait for him. He'd been honest all along, after all. He warned her, she'd probably never see him again.

Still she had hoped the first two years after he left, that he'd regret leaving and come back. Even though she knew he didn't leave her because he wanted too. He had too. At least that was what he had told her and she had never once doubted his words. There was never any reason too.

When Hermione poured a second cup of tea, she knew she had to say something. She could not keep silent much longer. Her curiosity would eventually get the better of her. Still she also knew, she'd have to be real calm and unbiased about this.

"so you know Draco" Hermione stated and Angela looked up. She had almost forgotten that Hermione was with her.

"Yes, sorry about all of this." Angela quickly uttered and Hermione smiled.

"Don't worry," she said, "Just know that you can talk to me". Not it was Angela's turn to smile.

"Thank you, I'm just trying to work this out for myself as well" Angela replied, earning her a nod.

Again minutes ticked by while Angela thought of how she could explain this too Hermione. She had never told anyone about Draco. Only Cassy and even then she didn't mention a name.

Taking a deep breath Angela braced herself. She'd have to start somewhere, right.

"I don't really know what to say or where to start" she apologised to Hermione.

"That's all right, take your time!" her new friend offered.

"I met Draco a long time ago. About twelve years ago I believe" Angela started and Hermione just sat back, nodding for her to go on. She was not about to interrupt Angela. She figured the woman had trouble enough finding the words as it was.

"We were so young then. And he was enthralling. Mysterious and different. And of course very handsome. And was such a gentleman, to everyone around him". Hermione fought to control her face and she nearly snorted at the last comment. That was not the Draco she had known all those years. Still she had seen him be a better version of himself over the past few years and she knew she had to give him a chance here. Or at least give Angela a chance to tell her story.

"I remember I was baby-sitting and my niece ran onto the street while I wasn't looking for a second. And there was a car coming and all I could do was scream. I seemed to be frozen to the spot. Luckily Draco wasn't. He grabbed her just before the car could hit her. Of course little Sarah started crying and he just comforted her, while taking her over to me. I was instantly in love" Again Hermione was fighting the urge to say something, but she smoothed out her face and nodded again to show she was still listening.

"I was such a kid back then," Angela chuckled, " he handed me Sarah and just walked away again. Giving me no chance to thank him, or to even ask his name. I was convinced I'd never see him again. I called after him, but he didn't turn around." She sighed a little.

"After that I kept looking around, hoping to see him again. And apparently he had a room in the hotel I worked at that summer. Because one day I was walking the third floor, cleaning up, I ran into him. Quite literally too" again she chuckled. Seeing the scene play out before her eyes again.

"He was about to say something, probably a profanity, but he stopped when he looked at me. I figured it was because he remembered me. He later claimed he didn't have a clue I was the same girl from a few days earlier. So, anyway. I kept coming back to that floor, hoping to see him again. And the first time I did, I asked him out."

"And he said yes?" Hermione asked, feeling as if she was being read from a novel.

"No, he declined. But I didn't give up that easily. I pretty much stalked him after that. Tried to talk to him whenever I could. And eventually he gave in. We had a blast that first date."

"First date?" Hermione asked, feeling she could interrupt Angela now, she seemed to have found the words now.

"Yes, many followed after that. Though he always made it clear, he'd have to leave at some point. I just didn't really care. I was falling in love for the first time and didn't think about what would happen if he left. And when he finally did, I was heartbroken. Knowing I would never see him again."

"How did you get over him?"

"I don't think I ever really did. I just tried to make myself believe it had all been a dream. That he had never been there. Of course about nine months later, I got myself a permanent reminder" Angela said and Hermione could not help but gasp. She had not thought of that at all.


	4. Chapter 3

**Tomorrow is another day

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_Chapter 3_

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The train ride had been quite nerve-wrecking. Both Cassy and Rose were scared of what would await them once they arrived at Hogwarts. Rose's parents had told her not to worry, but how could she not? Her cousin Teddy had told her all these horror stories after all. He had said something about doing magic in front of the entire school, in order to determine what house you would belong too. Now Rose didn't fear the magic, she feared the fact she'd have to do in front of the whole school. That would probably the worst thing that could ever happen to her. She'd get nervous, sweaty and she'd mostly likely mess up.  
When she informed Cassy of the story Teddy had told her, Cassy mostly worried about the magic part. She still feared that they had made a mistake and that she wasn't truly magical. That she would get up in front of the entire school and be made a fool off. Rose eyed Cassy carefully after telling the story. When Cassy got really quiet Rose took it upon her to share all her knowledge of magic with the girl.

"You really should not worry. There is nothing my mother would not have made me study if she thought we'd need it" Rose said with a reassuring smile.

"Meaning?" Cassy wondered out loud.

"Well, she didn't make me study, so I reckon there is no truth to Teddy's words" Rose said matter-of-factly, flipping her red curls back.

"Let's hope so," Cassy said softly, not quite as convinced as Rose seemed to be.

"Yes, lets. In the mean time I'll show you all I know." Rose offered with a big smile, she liked doing spells and she loved showing others what she was capable off. Well she loved showing it to small groups of people. According to her father, she got that from her mother.

"Really!" Cassy exclaimed, surprised that this girl she just met would be so kind to her.

"Sure, It's not much, but it's something" Rose said, not noticing the surprise in Cassy.

"Thank you" was all the other girl could utter. Cassy wasn't used to such kindness from peers. At her old school they rarely showed her any.

Rose told Cassy about the more simple, but handy, spells her mother showed her, like wingardium leviosa used to lift things in the air with a flick of the wand. Cassy was happily surprised to see even she could manage to make the feather twitch slightly. According to Rose, that was already amazing. And then Rose told Cassy about the spell her father told her about, about turning animals yellow. Her mother then got mad, because apparently it wasn't a real spell and she could not believe he would tease his daughter like that. Cassy smiled at this. Through all the stories she realised one thing; Rose's parents were really great to their children. And not for the first time did Cassy miss having a father. Sometimes she just wanted to have a father to joke around with her, or to hug her close, or even to just acknowledge her presence. And perhaps even just to make her mother a little less lonely.

When the girls stepped out of the train they immediately noticed the gigantic man calling out to all the first years. Subconsciously Cassy took a quick step back, making Rose laugh softly.

"That's Hagrid. He's really nice" she said quickly and Cassy raised her eyebrows.

"He's so big!" Cassy whispered urgently and again Rose laughed.

"I know, but he's really cool. He's a family friend" Rose explained and pulled Cassy towards him. Cassy felt unease settling in her stomach and wondered if she could trust Rose's judgement in this. It seemed so unlikely for this man to be really kind or gentle.

"Hi Hagrid!" Rose called and the man turned towards them with a broad smile.

"Rose! I was wond'ring where you'd be" Hagrid called out and laid his huge hand gently on Rose's shoulder. Again Cassy moved back without even meaning too, yet this time she was restricted in her movements by Rose's hand on her arm.

"This is my new friend Cassy" Rose said, pulling Cassy into the light of the small lantern Hagrid was holding.

"Nice the meet ya!" Hagrid said and gave a big smile. And Cassy mustered up one of her own. One she hoped looked convincing enough not to hurt his feelings.

After a few more minutes Hagrid started walking and the girls followed him. Soon they reached a lake and Hagrid told them all to step into one of the boats by groups of four. Quickly Rose grabbed Cassy's hand and stepped into the nearest boat. Once they sat down two boys stepped in after them.

"Hi, I'm Rose" Rose called, "And this is Cassy" she added and smiled at the boys. She recognised one of them, because her father had pointed him out, but she wasn't about to let him know that.

"Scorpius" the familiar boy said and turned away, looking out over the water. He was obviously not interested in conversing with them. Rose felt a little hurt by the gesture but tried not to let it show.

"I'm Tom" the other boy said and extended his hand, "Don't mind him, he's never very courteous" he added while pointing to his friends. Rose smiled at this and Tom returned it with one of his own.

They exchanged the common pleasantries like the weather and what not before they tried to lure their companions into conversation. Still, though both Tom and Rose tried, the conversation quickly died and Cassy was glad to see they were rounding a corner. She was never very good in speaking to strangers. She needed a little more time to warm up. See exactly who she was dealing with. Her mother said being cautious never hurt anyone and that people who didn't give her the time she needed, weren't worth her conversation. Cassy smiled, her mother always knew exactly how to make her feel better. And with this thought, the realisation came that this year Cassy would have to do with a lot less conversations with her mother .

The boats rounded the corner and Cassy gasped. She had not been prepared for the view she got. Again she let out a gasp as she looked up at the beautiful huge castle before them. She had never seen anything like it. Except for in movies perhaps, but that just wasn't the same as the real life experience.

"Beautiful isn't it" Rose whispered and Cassy just nodded. Beautiful wasn't even good enough to describe this place. Even the boys seemed impressed and somehow Cassy knew they came from money. She wasn't even sure why she thought so, but she did anyway.

"Now this year might not be so bad" Tom said in awe and Rose raised her eyebrow to him.

"Not so bad?" she asked.

"Well, at least were not in some dump right! This actually looks really decent." He replied and Rose just nodded. Cassy immediately knew her suspicions were confirmed. They came from money. They called it decent. A mere decent. To her this was nothing less then amazing.

Inside their guide Hagrid turned them over to a professor named Longbottom. He smiled down at them and tried to make them feel at ease.

"According to my mother he is really good. Nice too and brave. He helped win the war!" Rose whispered and Cassy just nodded, not really registering.

"Wait. War?" she whispered back when she did register.

"Right, sorry I keep forgetting you're a muggleborn. I'll tell you all about it later all right?" Rose apologised.

"That would be great!" Cassy agreed and turned back to the professor, whom she now saw in whole new light. He had fought in a war. He must be really cool.

"So, I will call you in a few minutes, for you to be sorted." Professor Longbottom finished and walked out of the room they were in. When he came back a few minutes later Cassy felt nerves stirring up again and she just followed the rest of her peers in a daze.

"When I call you name please step forward. I shall then place the hat onto your head and you will be sorted into one of the four houses." Professor Longbottom called out and all the first years looked at each other, hoping someone else would be first. And when the first few people were called Cassy was to scared to listen. She didn't know what to expect. Most kids around her already had a slight idea of what it would be, but she didn't even know what each house stood for. Sure the hat had sung about it, but she didn't really listen to it. She had been too distracted by the enchanted ceiling.

"Clarke, Cassiopeia" The voice of professor Longbottom called out and Rose quickly jabbed her in the side to get her attention.

"You're up" she whispered and Cassy quickly walked forward. Nervously she stepped up unto the platform and sat down in the chair. Now that she understood how they were divided into the four houses, the nerves were a little less, but they hadn't left completely. She wasn't sure which house would be best and she surely didn't want to be in a different house then Rose. As of this moment Rose was pretty much her only friend. Rose gave her the thumbs up as soon as their eyes met and Cassy tried to smile at her.

"I thought your family was the only deranged family who named their children after constellations." Tom Zabini whispered into the ears of his friend Scorpius. Scorpius just shrugged it off, but still eyed the girl suspiciously. He had seen the encounter of her mother and his father. He had been looking out of the train to see their retreating back, as always, and instead saw his father run into some woman and his fathers entire posture changed.

That woman resembled this Cassiopeia girl to such end that their relation could not be any other. And Scorpius was going to find out why this woman had such an effect on his father.


	5. Chapter 4

**Tomorrow is another day

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_Chapter 4_**

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**

"_He_ is the father?" Ron exclaimed not quite grasping what that meant. Not truly wanting to grasp the meaning either.  
"Well Astoria is just going to love that" Harry chuckled, trying to make light of a situation he had trouble understanding. Angela seemed so nice and innocent, what would a guy like Draco want with her? Where would he meet such a woman? A muggle none the less. It didn't seem like the Draco he had come to know all those years ago.  
"It's not funny Harry" Ginny snapped, she felt for Angela. This was not going to be easy for her. The look on the woman's face was enough to tell her that Angela had truly loved Draco. And perhaps she still did. And if anything Ginny understood about unrequited love.

"What house will Cassy be in?" Ron then asked loudly and Ginny just shook her head. They were unbelievable.  
"Is that the most important thing?" Hermione snapped at him and then sighed. She knew they would not take the information very lightly, but they were being ridiculous. For the past thirty minutes Ron and Harry had been making pointless statements and asked silly questions. If it had not been for Ginny, Hermione would have walked out of the conversation quite a while ago. Right now she was just happy that she had not made Angela tell them the story. This would be too hard to do for the woman. Then again Ron and Harry might have acted more open-minded if it had been Angela that told them the story. They wouldn't dare to be harsh or blunt in front of a woman so obviously hurt and confused by the situation she was in.

When Hermione had brought Angela to her own home, the young woman just walked up her bedroom and got into her bed. Her emotions draining her from any energy. Hermione felt her heart ache for the woman, but knew there was nothing she could do at this point. Angela had to come to terms with the new situation on her own. Hermione could do nothing more then be a friend and she was planning on being just that.  
Angela could not even bring herself to say goodbye to Hermione, or to thank her for being there to help her. She was exhausted and confused. She never thought she would even see Draco again, let alone in a world she never knew existed. And to see him with his wife, it was tough.

Angela sighed as all the emotions kept rushing through her body. Should she have expected this?

Though Hermione had not said anything, Angela knew she had her doubts about Draco. Something about Hermione's facial expressions told her as much. And Draco himself had told her over and over again that people didn't really want to see his face where he came from. She just never knew what that was about. And until now she never really cared. All she had cared about was the love they had shared, the love that created Cassy. She never had any reason to care about his past before.  
But now she feared she had to figure it all out. After all her daughter could be influenced by it.

Her daughter. Angela knew she would have to tell Draco about her now, and she would have to tell Cassy about him. Two conversations she was not looking forward too. Though she never lied to either, she never had anything too tell, she felt like she had been keeping things from them.  
A voice in the back of her mind told her to stop thinking like that. After all what should she have done? 'Cassy, about your father; his name is Draco, I loved him, but I know nothing else about him.' No she could not have done so. Instead she had always told her daughter that she came from love, but her father had to go before they realised she was pregnant. No lies, but pretty vague as well.  
And Draco, well she had no idea how to contact him, so she never could have informed him that he had a daughter. She really shouldn't feel so guilty.

Later that day Hermione came back to check up on Angela. Angela smiled as she saw the woman had brought over some food.

"You really didn't have too" Angela said and offered her something to drink.  
"I figured you hadn't thought of dinner just yet." Hermione said and summoned a plate from the cupboard.

"I haven't" Angela admitted and they sat down at the kitchentable. Angela felt her belly grumble as soon as the smell of Hermione's cooking reached her nose.

"It smells amazing" Angela exclaimed, making Hermione laugh.

"Recipe of Ron's mother. She's really an amazing cook" Hermione explained and Angela dug in.

After a few silent minutes Angela looked up at Hermione and decided she needed information.

"Why do you hate Draco?" she asked Hermione and her friend looked at her a little bewildered.

"What makes you think I hate him at all?" Hermione asked.

"It's quite obvious really. Whenever I speak his name you fight the urge to roll your eyes" Angela said with a smile, hoping to keep it light. She didn't want to upset her friend, Hermione was all she had at this point. After all she couldn't just tell her muggle friends about everything that had been going on.

"I guess it's complicated" Hermione started, trying to form the right words for what she wanted to say. She was quite sure that saying he was a '_noisy little ferret'_ would not really explain things, nor would it go over all too well.

"How is it complicated?" Angela asked.

"I went to school with him and well we were never friends. I doubt he had any real friends at all. And he was always so bitter" Hermione started, still not sure how she could explain it all best. There was so much to say, so much to explain. And there was even more that could barely be explained right.

"Really? That's not how I've come to know him" Angela said, thinking back of how he used to be when she knew him.

"I guess everyone changes" Hermione offered and Angela smiled, she knew Hermione was trying not to be judging in what she said about him. She was trying not to say the wrong thing to Angela.

"I guess so" Angela agreed.

"Anyway, we were in rivalling houses and back then that made it quite final. We weren't going to be friends, ever… And of course he was always jealous of everything and everyone. Though that's not what he called it back then." Hermione said with a small chuckle. That boy was always so jealous of Harry.

"Jealous?" Angela interrupted and then quickly apologised, "I really should just let you tell the story". Hermione just laughed. She knew Angela was dying to know all there was to know, it was quite understandable.

"He wanted fame and he wanted to be adored. He felt that because of Harry he would never have that. You see, Harry was quite famous, still is really…anyway Draco figured Harry didn't deserve it. Of course Draco's father was partly to blame for his views of the world. They're what you'd call pureblood. And they believed all the good in the world belonged to them and the likes of them. Other pureblood families. And I, well I am not a pureblood. Which excluded me from their circle immediately."

"So he hated Harry for his fame, and you for your heritage? What about Ron?" Angela asked.

"Ron came from a poor family" Hermione said, knowing this could not be explained any different. She could just not sugarcoat that fact. Ron was poor and Draco despised him for it.

"Seriously!" Angela exclaimed in shock. This could not be the same Draco she had known! She really could not understand that a man could change so much. And to hate someone because of their income, that was just really low.

"Yes, that's how it went." Hermione said, understanding the outreach visible on Angela's face.

"This really does not sound like the Draco I met eleven years ago." Angela then said, still shocked.

"Well, like I said, people change" Hermione offered. Knowing the current Draco was nothing like the young Draco she went to school with.

"But so much? That's doing a 180" Angela said.

"Well he really struggled during the war and he lost almost everything. I guess that changed him" Hermione explained.

"Could you tell me a little more about that war? Because I am really struggling with that" Angela said, wanting to know exactly what it had been like. And what the results of that war were.

"Yes, tomorrow. Right now I've got a little kid to tuck-in." Hermione said smiling. She figured Angela had enough information to process as it was.

"Yes, of course! You should go." Angela said and then walked over to Hermione, giving her a hug, "Thanks for today Hermione! I don't know what I would've done without you."

"Well, you might still have been doing a staring contest with Draco" Hermione joked and Angela could not help but laugh at this. 

And a few miles from where Angela and Hermione said their goodbye's a completely different conversation was being held.

"What was that all about Draco?" Astoria asked for the tenth time now and she was getting impatient. Her husband had responded quite inappropriately to that other woman and she demanded an answer. One which he was not giving to her. Astoria knew she should not push him so much, but she just needed to know what was going on. Her marriage wasn't what it once had been and she just really needed to fix it. But how could she, when she didn't know what it was that needed fixing? There was so much Draco didn't tell her. She needed to know who this woman was, so this wouldn't be a new threat to her fragile marriage. She needed her marriage to work. Draco looked upon his wife's face and offered a sad smile.

"I'm not sure what to say, I'm not even sure what happened" he then finally said and grabbed onto Astoria's hand, "I really wish I could offer an explanation. But I'm in need of one as well" he then added and squeezed her hand before apparating out of their home, leaving his wife behind in tears.


	6. Chapter 5

**Tomorrow is another day **

* * *

_Chapter 5

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_

Cassy looked around at all the faces before her while the hat was placed upon her head. She waited anxiously for the choice that the hat would make. She was absolutely petrified for what it would say. There was still a part of her that thought there had been a mistake, that any moment now the hat would call out that they should sent her home. And part of her thought worse: that she had been the victim of a very bad joke. That the entire group would stand up at any minute and laugh at her. With some of the mean girls from primary school jumping up in the midst of them and pointing at her while calling out 'told you she'd fall for it'. The best case scenario would be that she was dreaming. But Cassy was quite aware of the fact that dreaming seemed to be a wide stretch. After all she never had dreams this long and this realistic. Still, a girl can hope, can't she?

Despite of her fearful thoughts, however, the hat kept talking to her, analysing her character and being pretty accurate about it. It told her that she was quiet and insecure, but she had a certain strength in her. She never played the victim, even when she was one. It praised her for that.

"That's what my mom does" Cassy countered. Her mother had always shown her how to be strong.

The hat also told her about the possibilities she had in her and that she would achieve her dreams. Of course this confused her a little, for her dreams had always been based on her life as a muggle. She knew she would have to adjust her dreams and goals now. A magical future would most likely be different from a muggle future. It ocured to Cassy how often she was already using the word muggle. After all it had only been a few weeks since she learned of the existence of the word. Shaking of the thoughts in her head, she tried to listen to the hat once more.

By then the hat was now telling her to be strong like her mother was and to think like her father always did.

"I don't know who my father is" Cassy muttered and the hat chuckled.

"But I do, and I can tell you that he knows exactly where his powers lay" the hat answered her cryptically.

"But who is my father?" she tried asking, but the hat did not answer her. Instead it called out;

"It better be Ravenclaw!"

The next second the hat was pulled from her head and Cassy stood still for a moment, a little dazed.

Rose clapped loudly, beaming at her friend while jumping up and down. This made Rose's family at the Gryffindor table laugh loudly. Cassy offered her a shy smile, before looking around the hall. She remembered that the blue robes belonged to Ravenclaw. Of course, even if she had forgotten, they clapped the loudest and she would have figured it out anyway. She tried to smile at the kind faces looking her way, but feared the anxiety in her would make it look crooked, so she quickly sat down. It felt like she had been standing around for ages after the hat called out Ravenclaw and Cassy hated to be the reason of any delay. As she was sitting down the next person was already on the stool and she watched the rest of the sorting from her seat close to the stage.

When Rose was sorted into Gryffindor Cassy swallowed a few times, trying not to cry. She had hoped that her new friend would be with her. Rose seemed to be really nice and she was definitely better at meeting new people. Of course Rose also new a bit about magic. She would've been able to help Cassy the first few days, or weeks even. Rose however waved happily at Cassy before sitting down and starting a conversation with someone next to her. Again it showed that she had no trouble at all with meeting new people. Cassy just wished she had that skill.

Soon after that the sorting ceremony came to an end and after a few words by Headmistress McGonagal their welcome (back) feast began. Cassy ate in silence and tried to block out all the happy chatter around her. She had never been in such a large group of people, and she had never felt more alone than she did at that moment.

"Don't worry, by the end of tomorrow it will all look a lot better" an older girl whispered from her right and she smiled at the kind words of the girl. She knew she couldn't talk for the tears might start falling if she did, but she hoped the smile showed her appreciation to the speaker.

When diner was over the headmistress told all the first years to follow their prefects. The prefects immediately stood up, showing who they were.

"First years follow me" the Ravenclaw prefect called out to those in his house. Cassy followed the others, holding her head low. She wasn't in the mood to speak to anyone. During diner her mood had dropped to an all time low. Every time she looked in the direction of Rose, the girl had been happily speaking to others. Whereas Cassy had no-one to speak too. For a moment she caught herself thinking that Rose didn't care at all. Of course she knew that these thoughts were unfair to Rose, but they were already in her head.

"Cassy, wait up!" A voice called out and she turned to see Rose running her way. She could not help but feel a smile find it's way unto her face.

"Hi Rose, aren't you supposed to follow the prefect?" she said, knowing immediately she could have done better. Saying something friendlier. But Rose just laughed.

"I've got Teddy here to show me the way later. We can walk a bit with you first" Rose explained and Cassy smiled.

"Too bad we're not in the same house, right" Rose said and Cassy nodded.

"But she is with Victiore" Teddy muttered, making Rose laugh.

"Teddy is in his last year here" Rose told Cassy, " and he is in love with my cousin Victoire. I believe she was sitting next to you" she then added bluntly, making Teddy blush and smile sheepishly.

"The girl with the long blond braid?" Cassy asked, thinking of the girl who spoke those kind words to her earlier that evening.

"Yes" Teddy said.

"She's nice" Cassy offered and Teddy beamed at her.

"Well, your in his good book now" Rose chuckled and Cassy smiled. She didn't understand what she did exactly, but to be in somebody's good book couldn't hurt. Teddy called out to Victiore and she hung back a little to walk next to him. Together they walked on, but before they could leave the great hall they were stopped by Tom Zabini. Surprised they stood back to watch him come closer. Though they had spoken in the boat, neither of the girls expected any pleasantries to be exchanged beyond that. Especially since Tom and Scorpius got into Slytherin. Even with the war behind them, the Gryffindors and the Slytherins didn't really get along to well. There was still too much influence from the parents, who had been in the war. And from the sense of competition both houses owned. Rose was well aware of this and had informed Cassy of it in the train. Something the girl had not forgotten.

"Hi Rose, Cassy" Tom said and smiled brightly at them. There was just something fake about it.

"Hi Tom" Rose said and returned the smile. She wanted to make as many friends as she could during her years here and she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. She would be careful but not dismissive.

"What a feast, right" Tom began and the girls just nodded. When Cassy looked at Tom she saw Scorpius standing a few feet behind him, looking a little suspicious. Immediately Cassy was weary of his friend standing before her. She had learned to be weary years ago. Rose obviously hadn't, Cassy thought to herself, since she was chatting away so casually. Then suddenly Tom turned his attention to her.

"So Cassiopia, where'd you get your name from" he asked and she felt the urge to simply tell him 'from my mother', but she was afraid the sarcasm would be seen as stupidity.

"Well, my mother came up with it in regards to my father" she answered. Repeating what she had heard her mother tell her friends.

"And who might your father be?" Tom asked and Cassy felt her cheeks heat up.

"Why do you care?" Rose said, knowing from her mother that Cassy didn't know the identity of her father. Gratefully Cassy looked at her friend.

"Nothing, just curious. It's an unusual name" Tom said and smiled sheepishly. He obviously had thought he would get straight answers from the girl.

"It is, but it's really beautiful isn't it" Victoire said, in her soft melodic voice.

"It is. Well I'll go now. Bye" And with that Tom was gone. Leaving the four people he had interrupted earlier behind in confusion. Cassy saw him stalking off to Scorpius and immediately they started what looked like an argument.

'It seems that he did not want the information for himself" Teddy said, looking in the general direction in which Tom had left.

"It seems you've got an admirer already" Victoire said with a smile and then looked around her to see the rest of the students had already left the hall.

"It seems that we are late. We should better go now" she said and offered to show the way to Cassy. Cassy smiled and accepted the invitation. She was happy to have met this nice girl. Now she could sent her mother a positive letter in the morning. She had been afraid that she would have to lie in the first letter, but this was all turning out much better.


	7. Chapter 6

**Tomorrow is another day **

* * *

_Chapter 6

* * *

_

When Angela woke up the next morning she felt her energy had been completely restored. Sleep had done her a world of good. Still she could not figure out what had woken her up exactly. Her alarm wasn't set for another hour and she rarely if ever woke up without an alarm or person waking her. Confused she looked around the room and found nothing that could have woken her. She had no pets and there wasn't a single person in the world beside her and her daughter that had a key to the house. Since Cassy wasn't home, she could not have woken Angela.

With each second that passed Angela got more worried. Since learning of the world of magic, she had come to understand that they could 'apparate' anywhere. Who knows, someone might have figured out where she lived and decided to visit. Somehow she didn't think it would be a good thing. After all Hermione was the only magical person who knew where she lived and she wasn't supposed to show up for another two hours.

Then she heard it. It wasn't a loud sound. In fact she was surprised that it woke her up at all, but it must have been the unfamiliarity of the sound that did it. A soft ticking sound on glass.

Angela got out of her bed and grabbed her robe before walking our of her room and down the stairs, following the noise. Carefully she jumped over the squeaky steps and rounded every corner with vigilance. Her senses were so tense that she jumped with a shrill shriek the moment she rounded the corner towards the kitchen. Before her kitchen window sat a beautiful barn owl. It took her a moment to recover from the shock but when she did she started laughing loudly. Of course, she would have to get used to owls now.

Angela opened the window and let the owl in before removing the letter from it's paw. She opened it and saw it was a letter from Cassy and instantly a smile formed on her face.

Quickly she started reading it and she was relieved to find her to find her fears squashed. Cassy was doing just fine. Rose was made to look like a saint, but if she took after her mother, Angela could only wholeheartedly agree. And Rose even introduced her to some new people. Angela knew her daughter needed a little time to become comfortable in a situation before she would show her true colours. And thanks to Rose, she was sure that people were eagerly waiting to see those colours.

There was just one part of the letter that bothered her. The part where Cassy told her mother that she was weary of this one boy. He seemed a little strange. His name was Scorpius. Angela couldn't be sure of course, but she was quite certain that Scorpius was the son of Draco. The name was just too much of a coincidence. This meant trouble for her. What if Draco told his family before she got around to telling Cassy? She knew Cassy would never forgive her if the news reached her through some kid in school instead of her mother. And Angela would never forgive herself if she let it get that far. It was probably then that Angela realised she would have to speak to Draco sooner rather than later. They would have to hand out explanations and they would have to make some agreements about their children. Angela just feared she wasn't up to that.

When Hermione arrived later that morning, Angela was happy with the distracting she provided. Angela was anxious to know more about the war that raged through the magical world and she needed to know more about Draco's part in it. She knew that by knowing more, she would understand him and everyone in this strange magical world better.

So Hermione began her tale, knowing this was something that had to be explained properly and she wasn't about to let anyone but herself do that. Who knew, Ron might've given it a try otherwise and who knew with what kind of 'facts' Angela would end up then. Hermione felt a smile form on her lips as she thought of things Ron might've told. She would always scold if he did anything ridiculous but the truth was she loved him because of it.

Hermione explained that there was a man named Voldemort and she told about the chaos he created in the first war. The lives he took, the people he ruined and the pain that ensued afterwards. She spoke of the first order of the Phoenix and it's members. Of Harry's parents and how they were taken from the little infant. She mentioned Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. And the lone wolf named Remus that was left behind all on his own. And she explained that the death of Harry's parents resulted in the downfall of Voldemort. And the pain she felt for Remus and Sirius and the years they would never get back.

She then skipped eleven years to when Harry first started Hogwarts and the troubles he faced there. This scared Angela, because this was the place her daughter now inhabited. Was the school still this dangerous. But Hermione quickly removed all fears by explaining that the threat of Voldemort was now truly gone. It went unnoticed by Angela that she didn't promise things were now completely safe. And Hermione wasn't about to point it out, she was aware of the fact that she was a very concerned mother. After all she had been through in school, she was very wary about her children going to that same school. The presence of her old friend Neville and the other teachers she knew did help a little, but there was always some fear remaining. There was never the guarantee that nobody else would stand up to be the new evil.

When Hermione told her about their sixth year and the murder Draco was told to commit, a murder he could not make himself commit, Angela was pretty shaken. He had told her that he did horrible things in the past, but she never knew it could be this dark. Hermione told her some much about his character that she had never seen in him. The snide remarks about the lack of money in the Weasley family, the fact that Harry had not parents and the part where he hated Hermione simply for being muggleborn. This was not a side Angela knew, nor did she really want to. But it was a side to him, or it had been anyway, and she needed to know.

"He told me once that he wasn't who he wanted to be" Angela said sadly.

"Well I can totally understand that" Hermione joked and offered a comforting smile, "But to be fair, it wasn't all on him"

"What do you mean?" Angela asked confused.

"The way Draco was raised…he did not have much of a choice in the path he choose during those years. He was forced down a path by his father. And as long as there was no war, he held power on that path. He didn't show weakness, and he prayed on the weaknesses of others. His father was a powerful man and Draco profited from this. And like I said; before the war, this worked just fine. He never had to question his actions."

"But when the war started he had too?"

"Well, I think he started questioning his actions when he was told to kill Dumbledore. He might have been a nasty young boy, he was not a killer. And suddenly the dark side didn't seem to be so appealing. But he was too far in by then and he could not fight back."

"Couldn't or wouldn't?" Angela asked.

"Well a little bit of both I guess. I guess it's a scary thing to realise that all you've been thought really isn't how you view life anymore. Besides if he left the dark side, he would leave behind his family. He might've disliked his father's actions from time to time, but he loved his parents. After all this time he still does."

"I wonder why he left after the war, why he left then at that moment."

"Me too, but only he can answer that." Hermione answered with a sigh. After this deep and troubling conversation Angela needed to do something to take her mind of it. She needed to let it all sink in, in peace, before she was would analyse it all in her head. Before she thought of the next step to take in regards to Draco.

"I say we've been talking enough for now. It's been heavy enough. How about we go out for lunch?" Angela offered and Hermione happily agreed. Ron was still at work and Hugo was in school for a few more hours.

When Draco had come back late the night before, Astoria had pretended to be asleep. It comforted her that he laid down next to her and kissed her cheek. He had not done that in a while now. She knew they had been struggling, and she knew this who situation about the woman in the station didn't help matters. She just really wished she knew exactly what was going on.

So when morning came she got out of bed and caught up with him before he went to work.

"Draco, could we talk?" she asked timidly and he nodded, knowing he had to tell her something.

"Who was she?" Astoria asked and he sighed. He knew this was what he needed to tell her, but he really didn't want to jeopardise his already fragile marriage. And he knew the news of Angela and his relationship with her would do just that.

"Her name is Angela" Draco began.

"And where do you know her from" Astoria interrupted him.

"I'm getting to that." He said impatiently and she quickly looked at her bare feet. She always interrupted him and she knew it annoyed him greatly. She just wasn't born with a lot of patience.

"Right, so her name is Angela and I met her shortly after the war. Remember when I said I had to leave for a while? How I had to find myself before I could marry you?"

"And you found her?" Astoria asked with the hurt evident in her voice.

"Yes, I'm sorry. It just happened and we both knew it would be temporary. I knew I would go back to you. But she calmed me somehow, she grounded me while I was looking for the real me. While I was trying to figure out who I was."

"And I didn't calm or ground you?" she asked.

"Not at that moment. You were linked to a past me and I wasn't sure I was that same person anymore. I wasn't sure you would love me once I understood myself better."

"Or if you would love me" she stated.

"I guess so." He admitted.

"Did you love her?" she asked, scared to hear the answer, but she had to know.

"I did, I think. But I left before we could explore our feelings completely. And I hadn't seen or heard from her since I walked out the door all those years ago." He explained calmly. She had a right to ask these questions. He just hated that he had to tell her all these things that would hurt her feelings. Their marriage might be in a rough patch now, but it had been good as well.

"Eleven years ago" Astoria stated.

"yes" he answered, though he knew she stated it instead of asking.

"Did she have your child?" Astoria asked, realising that Angela's child was about as old as Scorpius.

"I really don't know. It's possible. Though we were safe, at least I thought we had been. It could also be a coincidence." Draco offered, knowing it would be a stretch for it to be a coincidence.

"She didn't know you were a wizard did she?" Astoria more stated then asked.

"No, she didn't. Why?" he asked.

"She looked so surprised." Astoria said, "You'll have to talk to her."

"I know" he sighed again.

"What does this mean for us?" She asked timidly again.

"I'm not sure" Draco said as he stood up and kissed the top of his wife's head before leaving for work. He wasn't sure what it meant, and didn't know what he wanted it to mean either. He never forgot about Angela, but while she was not in his life it was easy. He knew things would change now, massively. And he knew that there was going to be a lot of hurt and pain to ensue before this was all over.

After eight long hours of work in which he had trouble concentrated, Draco decided to walk home. He needed to clear his mind before he went to his wife. And he had to think of a game-plan. How he would get in touch with Angela and what he would have to talk to her about.

He rounded the corner and heard a woman gasp. He looked up and noticed he almost ran into someone. And that someone happened to be the woman he had been thinking off. Angela.

"Hi" he said softly. Momentarily at a loss for words. He never did well in situations like these. He liked it better if he could prepare for things, for meeting like these.

"Hi Draco" she replied. This was not what she had been expecting when she decided to run a few errands after her late lunch with Hermione.


	8. Chapter 7

**Tomorrow is another day

* * *

**

_Chapter 7_

* * *

The next morning Cassy felt much better then she had felt upon first entering the castle. She even smiled when she woke up. After all, all doom-scenarios she had thought off were now officially deemed nonsense. It was no joke and she was truly attending a school for wizarding and witchcraft.

She looked around her room through the drapes on her bed and saw the other girls were still sleeping. She was yet to truly speak with her roommates, but she knew their names and they seemed kind enough. There was Alexis Taylor, a short girl with brown hair and eyes and a kind smile. She was also a little hyperactive, but Cassy thought that might've been the excitement from yesterdays arrival. If not, well Cassy just hoped it would be fun. Then there was Jessica Smith, a slender, tall blonde with blue eyes. She seemed nice enough, but she wore a little to much make-up for Cassy's liking. And she really liked talking. Oh well, she didn't say anything to suggest unkindness, so Cassy was happy.

And last but not least there was Abigail Turpin. She was the one who started the introductions and she seemed genuinely interested in the stories the girls had to tell. She didn't even show the slight boredom Alexis and Cassy felt when Jessica kept talking about her amazing father and his time at Hogwarts. Apparently he was a close friend to Harry Potter back then. Cassy didn't really see how that was important. She met him at the station. He seemed normal, like any other parent there. Sure Rose explained his role in the war, but it was all still a little fuzzy to her. Was he famous because of it? That would explain Jessica's reason for mentioning the friendship between him and her father.

Cassy got out of her bed and quietly walked over to her suitcase. She got out some clean clothes and tiptoed towards the bathroom. When she felt a hand on her shoulder she nearly jumped through the roof, but didn't scream. Behind her Abigail laughed softly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you" she apologised and Cassy just smiled as they walked into the bathroom. She had always been a bit jumpy. Her mother would sometimes tease her with it. As would Drusilla, the girl next door when she was growing up.

The bathroom was quite large and there was a shower for every girl in the room. Convenient. There were also mirrors and sinks for each of them. Silently Cassy thanked whoever was responsible for that. She didn't want to have to wait for someone else to be done and she definitely didn't want to keep anyone waiting. She and Abigail each grabbed a stall as Abigail started conversation.

"So are you exited for classes?" Abigail asked and Cassy nodded first before realising the other girl would not be able to see that.

"Sure, but I don't really know what to expect." Cassy said and turned on the water.

"Me either, but it must be fun. My mother used to love it here." Abigail said and Cassy smiled, again forgetting the other girl would not be able to see that.

"Your mother went here? Was she in Ravenclaw as well?" Cassy asked curious.

"Yes, she was. She never said anything negative about this place." She said.

"And your father?" Cassy asked.

"I don't know. I don't know him." Abigail said and Cassy felt guilty for bringing him up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Cassy quickly apologised.

"Of course not, how could you have. But it's OK. Can't miss what you never knew right?" Abigail said simply.

"Sure" Cassy answered hesitantly. She _did_ miss her father, or knowing her father is more likely. And she never knew him either. Therefore she could not agree with Abigail's statement. Still she knew better then to argue. Abigail was being really nice to her.

"So how about your parents, did they go here?" Abigail asked and Cassy could hear her turn off the water already. For a moment she was surprised. She was still in the process of washing her hair.

"My mother is muggle and I never knew my father either. We only found out I was a witch a month ago, when I got the acceptance letter." Cassy confessed and Abigail laughed.

"Well that must have been a surprise for the both of you" she then said with a chuckle and Cassy immediately agreed.

"So you don't know if you're muggleborn or if your father was a wizard. That must be weird." Abigail then said as Cassy stepped out of the stall.

"I haven't really given it that much thought, but the Hat said I was like my father. It seemed to know him. So I guess I'm halfblooded." Cassy said and Abigail smiled.

"Well I guess it doesn't matter either way. But wouldn't it be fun to figure out who your father is? Perhaps he went here" she said and Cassy frowned. She hadn't thought of that. She wanted to talk to her mother about this, but she knew it could not really be done by letter.

"Perhaps, but I've got no leads at all." Cassy admitted and she saw a shimmer of something in Abigail's eyes. It seemed to be mischief.

"Well ask your mom about it on the first holiday." Abigail opted.

"That's quite a while from now" Cassy answered with a sigh. It was strange to be away from her mother and then to think of the time they would be separated was a bit scary. She would get through it of course, but she would truly miss her mother a lot.

"Until then we'll just see what we can figure out without her help." Abigail said and smiled. Cassy wasn't sure she even wanted to figure it out like that. But she liked Abigail already and didn't want to tell her that she wasn't sure. She'd just try and delay their small investigation.

When Abigail and Cassy came down from their bedroom into the common room they saw Victiore was already waiting. The older witch smiled kindly at them and signalled for them to come over.

"I'd like you to meet my sister Dominique. She's just starting her second year" Victiore said and Cassy and Abigail kindly smiled at the girl before them. Both were at a loss for words, these girls were just really pretty. And it seemed that most of the male population agreed with them. They were quite enthralling.

"Oh, and this is Abigail" Cassy quickly said when she remembered her manners.

"Nice to meet you," Victiore said and started walking, "Let's go down for breakfast" she added and the other girls followed her. Cassy hoped that she would remember the way to their common room. Last night she really didn't pay attention to it, so she feared she would get lost later that day.

They walked into an already busy great hall and sat down at the Ravenclaw table. The food was already there and didn't appear like it had last night. Cassy was grateful for that, she was starving.

She ate some toast and looked around the hall for familiar faces. At the Gryffindor table she saw Rose sitting with her family. Their eyes met and Rose waved enthusiastically. Cassy returned the wave with a bright smile.

When she finished eating she looked in Rose's direction once more and saw the girl looking at her expectantly. When she saw Cassy looking her way she immediately waved her over. Cassy excused herself and walked over to her friend.

"Hi Cassy" Teddy said as the girl sat down next to Rose. Cassy smiled and waved at him.

"How are your roommates?" Rose asked her and Cassy quickly told her about the girls, especially about Abigail. She really hoped that they would become friends. Like she and Rose had quickly become.

"What about your roommates?" Cassy then asked and Rose smiled.

"They're not too bad at all. I already met one of them at a party at my aunt's house once, so that was good. And they all seem pretty nice. Still, it would've been fun if we were together, wouldn't it" Rose said and Cassy nodded in agreement.

"So, I talked to Tom earlier" Rose said after a few more minutes. And Cassy could see something of a smile forming on her friends face, while some of Rose's cousins joked and whistled. Cassy raised an eyebrow at them and they laughed even harder.

"What's that all about?" Cassy asked and Rose got a bit rosier in the cheeks.

"They have this weird idea that I like him" Rose explained and Cassy made a face. Weren't they a little too young for that? She certainly didn't like boys like that. And she couldn't really imagine feeling that in the near future. She looked at Rose's cousins and rolled her eyes at them.

She had met them all at the trainstation. And after they had boarded the train Rose had repeated their names for her. Something Cassy was thankful for. She had been too nervous at the station to really register anything. They were quite the family. Loud, noisy and large in numbers. And they seemed amazing.

There was Molly, a redhead second year. Louis who was the brother of Victiore and Dominique and in the same year as Cassy and Rose. Unlike his sisters though he wasn't a Ravenclaw, instead he was placed in Gryfindor with most of their cousins. Then there was James, also the same age as the girls. He had been playing jokes on his cousins the entire night, according to Louis.

Rose also told her that there were even more cousins back home. They really had a big family. Cassy wondered what that was like. All her life she'd only had her mom. Of course there were friends and the kids of those friends. But no real family. She had never asked her mother about it because it never really mattered. But she was curious now; did she have any cousins? Any aunts? Grandparents? She loved her mother and they had always done fine with just the two of them, but now Cassy suddenly wondered if she had been missing out on something.

She shook her head quickly, she was probably feelings so confused about things because of the huge changes she had been through. After all it wasn't nothing to find out you're a witch and then to be shipped off to some boarding school hours away from home. Hours away from anything it seemed.

It was beautiful and Cassy felt at home with the place and the people she had already met, but it was a lot to go through just the same.

She smiled at something Rose said and they got up to go to their first class of the day. Potions, something that the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors had together. Cassy waved over to Abigail and the girl walked over to them. Soon Rose and Abigail seemed to hit it off and Cassy smiled. This was going well, the two people she had taken a liking to didn't seem to mind each other either.

Their first class was strange and the teacher mostly spoke of the basics of potionmaking. A lot of theory, not much practice. But he did promise that next class they would actually make a potion. Albeit a simple one, it did excite everyone.

"I can't wait 'till next class. I'm not one for theory that much" Rose said and the other two girls laughed a little, but could not help but agree. It would be really exciting to fabricate something.

"What is next?" Rose asked the other two girls and both girls surprised her by telling her without needing to look at their schedule.

"Transfiguration" they said in unison.

"You already know this without checking?" Rose asked them.

"Yes" again in unison and all three laughed at that.

"Well, then I'll see you guys at lunch. I've got Defence against the dark arts now, with Hufflepuff" Rose told them and called out to one of her classmates to wait for her.

"Which means we've got this class with Slytherin" Cassy stated a little uncomfortable. Somehow her previous contact with Tom and Scorpius made her a little wary of the boys.

"Well, they've got a few cute boys" Abigail swooned and Cassy just raised her eyebrows.


	9. Chapter 8

**Tomorrow is another day **

* * *

_Chapter 8_

* * *

"Hi" Angela repeated softly after a very uncomfortable silence that lasted for several minutes.

"Hi" Draco started and paused before adding, "you look good. How have you been?" He actually looked a lot less comfortable than his words might have suggested. The usually calm and collected Draco actually seemed ready to burst.

"You too. I've been…well life you know" Angela said, not really knowing what to say to the man before her. It had been so long since she had last spoken to him. So long since he had broken her heart. And so long since her life had gone through some huge changes because of him, or thanks to him, or…well perhaps even despite him. After all, he might be the father of Cassy, he had not had any influence on her decision to raise the girl or anything that happened in the life of the little girl. It had been so long since she gave up hope of ever seeing him again.

"Yeah, I understand" Draco replied looking at his feet. His words were met by silence. The quiet lasted several minutes in which they just stared at each other, and at their shoes. Angela sighed, this was really not what she had expected from her afternoon. It had all started out so calm and easy. Of course she should have known it could not have stayed like that. After all the past few weeks had been anything but calm and easy. There had been so much change, Angela had trouble keeping up.

"We've got to talk" Angela said finally and Draco nodded in agreement. He seemed to be at a loss of words. So Angela tried to keep the conversation going, she knew it had to happen at some point anyway.

"There is a lot we need to talk about" Angela said hesitantly, trying to meet his eye.

"There really is" Draco agreed once more, quickly looking the other way once he looked into her eyes. He never forgot about her eyes. It had been eleven years since he had last been able to see them for real. Normally he only saw them in his dreams. He still thought about Angela a lot. He just never thought he would ever be able to see her again. He tried to offer her a smile, but even he could feel it wasn't much of an uplifting smile. It was too forced.

"What should we agree on?" Angela stammered, not wanting to have the dreaded conversation yet knowing fully well that she would have too eventually. She could not really run from this.

"I'm not sure." Draco replied and Angela sighed.

"Well any ideas?" Angela pressed a little annoyed. She knew she had no right to be, but he was really leaving her all the work in this conversation.

"I'm not sure all right, I'm a little surprised to have run into you" Draco replied just as annoyed.

"Welcome to the club, this wasn't really on my to-do-list of today either" Angela countered and then sighed.

"Look, perhaps we should just go home and think about this. You could write me when you are sure" Angela said, she knew they should not let their annoyance get in the way.

"Perhaps that would be a good idea" Draco agreed and Angela rolled her eyes. He really wasn't much for the talking today, Angela thought to herself and fought the urge to roll her eyes at his behaviour.

"Yeah, I've got my moments of clarity" she said sarcastically before walking around him. She just wanted to get home. Draco turned around and watched her walk away from him in a daze. He really didn't know what to think, do or say but he knew he had to get it together soon. In a few minutes he would be arriving home and Astoria would be there, wanting to talk. He really didn't know what to tell her.

By the time Draco got home, Astoria was waiting impatiently and he knew he'd have to tell her he met up with Angela. He would have to tell her about the fact they were arranging to meet. And then he would have to tell her he'd rather do that meeting without her presence. Now that last part wouldn't go over too well, he was sure of it. But he also knew that he would have to go easy on Angela. Otherwise she would not tell him anything. She was the kind of woman that would shut down under pressure. Not that she wasn't strong enough, she was just too stubborn. And Astoria would provide pressure. That was what Astoria did in situations where she had no real control over.

As he walked into the kitchen, he saw his beautiful wife sitting in her best dress. She had obviously dressed up for dinner and he smiled. When they had just met, she would always dress up for dinner. She would always dress up for anything they would undertake together. Lately though, she hadn't bothered that much with it. And he really couldn't blame her. They had come at an impasse in their relationship and neither one had really known how to deal. Neither had ever seen such a thing in the relationships of their parents. Which could mean two things, their parents never encountered it, or their parents were like most purebloods. It wasn't anybody's business. Most likely the latter option would be closest to the truth. And since that part of the pureblood life had not changed since the war, Draco nor Astoria had anyone to speak too about this. Their family would have been appalled that they would openly admit something was wrong and their friends would just roll their eyes and tell them to get over it. Yes, that would not be very helpful at all.

"You look beautiful" Draco admitted to his wife and she smiled, obviously pleased he had noticed. He smiled back at her and sat down. Of course he had noticed. Though their relationship was on shaky ground, he still thought she was beautiful. He still loved her. And he still tried to notice all the things she did for him. Their problems weren't coming from a lack of love at all. He really didn't know why they were having problems, what had truly caused them, but somewhere along the way they had occurred. Nowadays they were either fighting or not speaking at all.

"Thank you, Draco. How was work" Astoria asked him as she ordered an house-elf to bring in the dinner she had them prepare for tonight.

"Mostly dreadfully long" Draco said with a chuckle. She always asked him about work, but he knew very well that she didn't care about his work. She didn't understand much of his every day ordeal and she didn't try to understand either. She was after all raised to be the perfect trophy-wife. As were most women in pureblood families. And Astoria had always played the part well. She didn't interest herself in his work. She made sure their home was good. She raised their son. She made sure he learned everything he needed to know. She just made one alteration from her own childhood. She had told their son that blood was of no importance. Draco was glad she had done that. After all he didn't want his son to follow in his footsteps or those of his own father. He wasn't particularly proud of his past these days. But he knew he could be proud of the changes he had made. The changes his father had tried to make. They were by no means perfect. They were still judgmental and even obnoxious sometimes, but they tried.

Draco looked at his wife and knew he had to say something to put her mind at ease. He had a feeling that telling him he had met up with Angela would do nothing of the sort. Not when she had obviously tried to so hard to make this a nice comfortable evening for the two of them. Instead he figured he would test where she stood on the subject of Angela.

"I was thinking that maybe I should contact Angela. Meet with her" Draco said after a few minutes of silence and Astoria stopped all movements. Her fork was halfway to her mouth and her lips were slightly parted.

"Keep breathing darling" Draco joked and knew as soon as he had said it, it was too soon for jokes. He didn't need to see the look on his wife's face to know that much.

"Very funny Draco. You're absolutely hilarious." Astoria said snidely and laid down her fork.

"How would you want to go about meeting her?" Astoria said and Draco shrugged.

"Perhaps meet up with her for coffee and just talk about everything" Drace said.

"And what exactly is 'everything'?" Astoria asked pointedly and Draco knew she was right. Ever since he had run into Angela he had been making assumptions. None that he had shared with his wife. He figured that Angela really wanted to speak to him, he thought that the child had something to do with him. And he thought…well he didn't really know what he thought. But he surely never stopped to think that perhaps it had nothing to do with him. Perhaps he just pushed his past into his wife's face for nothing. Perhaps he had just hurt his already faulty marriage over nothing. Then again, perhaps he had every right to assume. He knew he would have to figure it all out and he needed to speak to Angela to do that.

"I just need to know" Draco muttered and Astoria sighed.

"So do I Draco, so do I." She said solemn, the tone of her voice made Draco wince. He really never wanted to hurt her. She didn't deserve that. After a few more minutes of silence Astoria spoke up again.

"Perhaps you should ask Granger about her address and write to her. Then we could arrange a meeting in which we could all talk about the current situation and all the question it raises." She said and Draco tried to keep his face even. He knew very well that Astoria didn't just want to know about Angela or this situation. She wanted to see if Angela posed any threat to her. And maybe she had a right to do so, but he really didn't want to put Angela through that. After all Astoria wasn't known for her gentle nature towards other women. Especially women who came close to all she held dear. She saw every one of those women as a threat. And she was viscous to those women.

Her widowed father never got a chance to meet new women or to form any sort of bond with them. Astoria usually scared them away before feelings could form. Not that she didn't want to see her father happy, she did, but she didn't think any of those women were worthy enough. None of them were her late mother. And she had fiercely loved her mother. She always loved fiercely. It's something Draco loved about his wife. She was quite passionate even if her pureblood upbringing told her not to show her passions too much to the outside world. It always showed in her actions. She reminded him slightly of his own mother in that way. His mother always loved fiercely. However unlike his mother Astoria had the ability to look beyond blood and heritage.

"Are you sure it's wise to speak to her together?" Draco asked cautiously and Astoria raised an eyebrow.

"You don't think so? I mean we are a married couple, she'll have to deal with the both of us." Astoria said and Draco nodded.

"Yes but she also a woman who is probably wary of us at this point and she knows nothing about you, us or our world." Draco tried to reason, yet knowing it would not work.

"Draco, are you trying to keep me away from her?" Astoria said with a slightly raised voice.

Yes, I am, Draco thought to himself but knew better than to voice his thoughts at this point.

"No" he simply said and then promised to contact Hermione in the morning. Astoria was pleased with this and proceeded with diner.

Later that evening Draco excused himself and went into his study. Astoria never followed him there and he took some time to think about his next step. He didn't want to put Angela in a nasty position by throwing her to the wolves…or in this case introducing her to Astoria too soon. Angela wouldn't know what hit her and he didn't want that for her. Or himself. He wanted to assess the situation with more subtlety. He wanted to know exactly what was going on and if he was even involved at all.

Still he didn't want to lie to his wife. She didn't really deserve that.

After an hour of checking the pros and cons of either choice he decided to pick the one he liked best. The one choice he had wanted to go with from the start.

'How about Thursday at noon" Draco wrote too Angela not much later. And dutifully she replied within the hour.

'Why don't we meet at 12 temple place, near Covent garden' Angela had replied and Draco sighed before he burned the note. He felt horrible for lying to his wife, but he knew it would be better in the long run. For him that was. He needed to see Angela alone. And his selfishness actually bothered him now. If only he could've been eleven again like his son was now. Everything had seemed so much simpler then. More black and white. But as it was, he was in a grey zone and he didn't know how to get out of it.

On the other side of town Angela struggled with her own thoughts on the subject. She had picked a place she was familiar with. A place where she felt comfortable. And a place where she could at least enjoy a good meal while they had the dreaded conversation. She really didn't look forward to dredging up the past and changing the future she had planned for herself and her daughter. But she was sure changes would occur. Especially for her sweet daughter. And Angela wasn't sure how they would be once all was said and done.


	10. Chapter 9

**Tomorrow is another day

* * *

**

_Chapter 9_

* * *

As the girls walked into their Transfiguration classroom they quickly sat themselves down in the middle. Not many people had arrived yet and so they went for the best seats. After all, according to Abigail, the front row is for overachievers and the last row is for the slackers. The middle of a classroom is usually the best seat. Neutral. That way they can be spared from an unwanted reputation. Abigail was quite busy protecting her reputation. It was strange to Cassy, since she wasn't aware they had a reputation to uphold yet. Then again, she never had to before. She never really cared much about reputations. They did nothing for a person in the end, she thought.

Reputations never told you much about the person they were supposed to describe. The popular girl in this school could be the nerd in some other school. It was a matter of opinion, not of facts. And Cassy liked facts more, they were simple, clear. There was now grey area in facts. Opinions were completely grey. And though everyone was entitled to their opinion they should not determine someone or something.

As the rest of the class filled in Cassy tried to look at the seating through Abigail's eyes, trying to figure out if there was even the slightest bit of truth to her words. Sure enough Jessica sat down on the front row, next to a girl Cassy hadn't been introduced to. But she did recognise the girl as another Ravenclaw, she had seen the girl in the common room once or twice now. Both seemed eager for class to begin. Well at least they were serious, overachieving was yet to be determined.

In the back she saw Tom and Scorpius taking a seat, but unlike slackers, they immediately took out their books and a scroll for their notes. So perhaps Cassy should just ignore Abigail's wisdoms on this subject. She felt Abigail jab her in the side and quickly she turned around.

"What?" Cassy asked, while rubbing her side. Abigail obviously didn't know her own strength.

"I saw you looking" Abigail said with a smile and looked back over at Tom and Scorpius.

"Right. That means something?" Cassy replied a little confused. She really didn't see anything wrong with looking over at her classmates to see who would be slackers and who wouldn't be.

"You like him" Abigail teased and Cassy just looked more confused then ever. Who was she supposed to like?

"Who?" she asked and Abigail just wiggled her eyebrows.

"Can't blame you of course, he is pretty cute." Abigail said vaguely and Cassy felt a little lost now. Judging by Abigail's response she really was supposed to know who she was talking about.

"Who!" Cassy asked a little louder now, a bit annoyed by her own apparent ignorance.

"Scorpius of course" Abigail said and Cassy laughed.

"Seriously? No, that was not why I was looking that way" Cassy replied in all honesty and it was now Abigail's turn to look confused.

"It's not? Then why were you looking" She asked, surprised that could be more reasons to look at boys.

"In case you missed it, I'd been looking around the entire class to see who we share this subject with." Cassy said and Abigail just looked more confused. She really could not understand that people would actually look around a room for that.

"Right, because that's really interesting" Abigail said with sarcasm. Cassy just nodded and wanted to drop the subject. Luckily for her that was the moment the teacher walked in and class started. She did not want to give Abigail the opportunity to continue the conversation.

During lunch Cassy and Abigail met up with Rose. They spoke about their classes and Cassy was glad to see that Rose was enthusiastic about learning, like her. She really liked Abigail, but she had noticed that the girl really didn't pay much attention in classes. Perhaps she didn't need it, after all she was a Ravenclaw. Perhaps she would just do well, without much work. Cassy however feared she would not.

That afternoon they had one more class, a double period actually. Defence against the Dark Arts. Something that intrigued everyone in their year. Not many knew exactly what to expect. Cassy didn't either, but she was anxious to find out. Their teacher showed them a bit of the basics, told them what to expect of the year and how and when they would practice. Something Cassy could not wait for. They would have a double period every Monday and a single period every Thursday. They would spend the single period for theory and the double period for practising. Except this first class, simply because the teacher found it important to explain everything thoroughly. Cassy couldn't help but agree. And she was happily surprised that even Abigail seemed to think studying was important for this class. She had not once looked over the boys next to them. Of course that could also mean she didn't find the two Hufflepuff boys very attractive, but Cassy really didn't care for the reason.

That evening they had dinner at the Ravenclaw table and Cassy didn't take the time to seek out Rose afterwards. They already been given homework and she wanted to get it done. Rose would understand. She hoped.  
She worked hard and long on the few assignments they had received and she was happy to say that by the time she went to bed, everything was done already. Perhaps she wasn't as far behind as she feared, being muggleborn and all. Perhaps the teachers actually figured everyone needed to start from square one. She didn't know the reasons, but she was happy for it. It meant she wasn't behind from the start.

Her second day was more of the same. All the teachers wanted to give them some basics and explain how the year would be organised. The only class that immediately started off with them writing down notes was History of Magic. Cassy was surprised it was taught by a ghost. It was certainly interesting and perhaps it could be fun. Sure the first lesson seemed a bit dull, but that could change…right?

Thursday she would start a little later, because Wednesday evening they were expected in the Astronomy tower for Astronomy. Apparently there was a great view of the sky from there and she could not wait to see that. It seemed so huge, so vast and she always wanted to know more about it.  
So that evening Cassy walked towards the Astronomy tower with glee. She had taken a look at the books and was happily surprised by this subject. She already had a good feeling about it. She hadn't even bothered to look with which house they had this class. Of course, Abigail happily informed her over dinner. Slytherin. But that could not dampen her spirit. Perhaps she could even ask the teacher about her name, a constellation. Who knew what stories there could be told about the origin of her name.  
She also knew this subject was more theory and studying, something she was good at, and not a lot of wand waving, which she was really not that good at, at all. How could she be? She had never really done it before.

Abigail tailed behind a little talking to some of the other students they met along the way to the tower, but Cassy could not wait and kept her strong pace. Of course that was until she nearly ran into Scorpius at the stairway. She jumped away from him like he had burned her and even Cassy could see the hurt and confusion flash in his eyes.

"Sorry" Cassy mumbled and walked around him, while Scorpius stood behind not sure why this girl tried so hard to stay away from him. It did not make much sense at all. It was far to soon for him to have received a bad reputation, right?

The class was over before she knew it. It was just so fun, so enthralling, that time simply seemed to escape her. During the hour she steered clear of Scorpius, like she had done every class so far, and she really focused on what the teacher was saying. Again a lot of basics, but teacher gave them all a turn to view the night sky through something that could be compared with a muggle telescope.

Absolutely amazing.

After class Cassy went to the teacher and asked about her name, but it was late the teacher promised to talk about it next week. Something Cassy could understand and she went down the stairway that the rest of her classmates had already descended. She usually didn't like walking alone in the semi-dark, but she had enjoyed this class so much she really didn't mind at all. Nothing could dampen her spirit.

"I'm not evil you know" Scorpius sneered as Cassy walked passed him.

"I know" she replied, surprised to find him lurking in the shadows. She thought he had left already.

"Then why do you act so scared around me" he asked her, still sneering. He really wasn't that scary and he surely wasn't going to let her act as if he was. He'd had it with people looking at him for his father's and grandfather's mistakes. He didn't make them. He wasn't even around at the time to participate in those mistakes.

"Knowing you're not truly evil, doesn't make me trust you right off the bat." Cassy answered him. She hadn't realised that he had interpreted her reluctance to interact as behaviour of someone scared. She wasn't scared. Just wary.

"What did I ever do to you?" Scorpius asked her quickly.

"Nothing. Nothing for me either" Cassy answered in all honesty. He surely was bold and straight to the point. Cassy wasn't used to that.

"what do you want from me?" Scorpius demanded from her. And that struck a nerve.

"I want to know what you want from me!" she replied a little heated and he looked taken aback. Who was he to ask her that, when he had sent others to figure things out about her, Cassy thought angrily to herself.

"I" he started but she interrupted.

"You sent Tom to Rose and me that first evening." Cassy stated, knowing she was right.

"What if I did?" he asked, not really seeing where this statement would lead too.

"I want to know why" she said in a matter-of-fact way.

"Just curious" he said simply, looking at his nails. Trying to look casual.

"I don't buy that for a second" Cassy countered still heated and his nonchalant attitude wasn't making it much better.

"Well, then don't" Scorpius replied, keeping his face unreadable to Cassy. He really didn't want to explain it to her. He couldn't even explain it to his best friend properly, not without mentioning what he had seen at the trainstation. And nobody needed to know that.

"I won't" she then replied.

"Fine" he now countered, annoyed by her behaviour. And angry at himself for not getting anything out of her.

"Fine!" she said back as loudly as he had exclaimed it and with that they both stormed off in opposite directions.

Cassy made her way back to common room still fuming at the boy she had left in the halls below. She knew he wanted something from her, but she could not think of anything that should interest him. She was just Cassy. Born to a muggle mother and no knowledge of her father. Angrily moping to herself she made her way to the common room and just when she was about to enter, something crossed her mind. She grabbed her books for Astronomy. Scorpius sounded familiar. And she remembered why it did just now. It's a constellation, like her own name.

Of course that would not explain his interest completely, but it was surely something to keep in mind. Cassy just felt like it was important somehow. She'd have a talk with Rose about it in the morning, perhaps she could shine some light on the situation.


	11. Chapter 10

**Tomorrow is another day

* * *

**

_Chapter 10_

* * *

Angela still felt overwhelmed by confusion. When she had run into Draco on platform 9 ¾ she knew he would want to speak with her. In the back of her mind she had known that much. And she wanted to speak to him, she had always wanted to talk to him. Ever since he left her life all those years ago.  
But the shock of seeing him, of the idea she would have to deal with her past, was still so real, so enormous. She wasn't sure if she would be able to face him yet. She wasn't sure if she would ever be ready to face him. Seeing him brought back so many memories. She had loved him so much. Even when he didn't love her back. And suddenly she wasn't sure if she ever really let go of her love for him. And then there was Cassy to think of. And Scorpius, as Harry had informed her. And not to forget about Astoria. Angela could not imagine what Astoria would be going through now. She could not imagine, but she just hoped that Astoria would not hate her from this moment on.  
What she and Draco had, was in the past. Well sort off. Silently she cursed herself for the confusion. How could she not have moved on in all those years? Or was she just thinking of what had been?  
She really wasn't ready to face him.

"_I do understand. I really do. But you can't deny him some answers. And you need to be able to ask your own questions"_ practical Hermione had mentioned when they had discussed this. And she had been right, off course. Angela knew that. But knowing she was right and acting upon that knowledge were two different things. If it had been up to Angela she would have avoided meeting him for a very long time. She didn't want to tell him about her life the past eleven years. And something in her told her, she didn't want to know about his life either. She didn't want to hear about his wife, his marriage. His happy family life. Not while she had been alone for so long. It had been only her and Cassy for so long now. She never had anyone to fall back on. And he was partly to blame for that.

Still she didn't want to be angry at him. She didn't want to blame him for anything in her life. After all he had given her Cassy. However, she didn't want or need to hear how his life had been much better than hers, because that would most likely set off the anger and the blaming. She wasn't made of stone, she hurt when he left. She was hurting all the time, only Cassy had been able to lift the pain from her life. Nothing else, no one else. Besides Cassy she hadn't had anyone in her life. Not until she met Hermione and her amazing family.

Still Hermione had managed to talk some sense into her. And together they had thought of a place and time to meet, once Draco had initiated contact. Hermione had been with her that entire evening, waiting for a letter. Angela knew she was leaning in Hermione a little too much. But it was such a relieve to finally have someone in her life again that would catch her as she fell, she couldn't help but lean on her. And Hermione was so patient. She didn't even seem to mind. After Angela got back on stable territory, she would have to start letting Hermione lean on her sometimes. She would have to show she could be a good friend as well. She would do that. She had to, Hermione deserved it.

Hermione had told her that she should meet in a muggle place, to avoid any gossip. Gossip always seemed to reach the school. And their children should be protected from that, at least for now. Until the parents had figured it all out, together.  
So here Angela was, sitting in a fancy muggle restaurant in London, trying to figure out what to say and how. Hermione had promised her she would be there in a flash if she was needed. Bless that woman. But Angela hoped it wasn't needed. She hoped Draco would come alone. She really wasn't ready to meet the wife. Angela feared that the amount of tension would be too much to handle if the wife came along. This whole ordeal was tense enough without her.

Angela couldn't imagine how his wife was feeling right about now. She would want to know why Cassy and Scorpius were so close in age of course. Angela would like an explanation about that as well, but to her that wasn't the most pressing matter. Nor was it as much her right to know as it was his wife's right. He didn't owe her anything. He had never made her any promises.  
But his wife was another story entirely. She had every right to know.  
For Angela, however, the most important thing was establishing a plan. How they were going to tell their children. How they would tell their worlds. And she wanted to know what made him leave her.

Draco really didn't want to come here. It was packed with muggles. And while he really didn't judge by blood anymore, he liked to have magic all around him. Well, and of course he knew the people and the dishes in magical restaurants. He wasn't really comfortable trying out new things. He liked sticking to the old.  
However, he also understood that this was probably the best place to have this conversation. Nobody knew him here and gossip wouldn't reach the magical community as quickly. He really didn't need any rumours, true or false. He needed time to figure things out first.  
The gossip would devastate his wife, and his son once it reached him. And Angela's child would not bode well either. Whoever that child was. He really wished he could've noticed Angela earlier on at the trainstation. That way he could've gotten a look at her child. He would know if it was a boy or a girl. And perhaps he could even see if there were any similarities.

He walked into the restaurant and spotted Angela almost immediately. Even in her current disposition, on full of fear and anxiety, she radiated. Her hair was pulled up in ponytail and her clothes were simple yet elegant. She had a frown on her face, signalling that she was lost in thought. Draco could imagine what she was thinking about. He could almost hear the thoughts swimming through her mind and it shocked him that he still felt so familiar with her. Quietly he neared the table and he sat down, constantly looking at her.

"Hi" he said softly and she nearly jumped from her seat, making him laugh.

"Hi, I didn't see you there" she apologised and took a few deep breaths.

"I could see that. You were a bit lost in thoughts" he mentioned and looked up as a waiter came their way.

"just a coffee please" Draco said.

"Make that two" Angela added and the waiter just nodded before walking away from them.

Silence ensued and she looked from her hands back to his face, while he was concentrating hard on not looking at her at all.

"I never thought I would see you again" Angela started and Draco nodded in agreement. Neither had expected that.

"I never thought I'd see you at the station" Draco said and Angela chuckled shortly.

"Me neither" Angela told him honestly.

"How did you get there?" Draco asked curiously.

"Cassy got a letter earlier this summer" Angela explained and realised he was far more interested in Cassy, not the letter. It showed on his face. She grabbed her bag and took out a picture of her and Cassy.

"That's her" she said while offering him the picture.

"She looks like…." Draco started and stopped there. He really didn't know what to say.

"like you" Angela finished softly and he just nodded. Surely she had much in common with her mother, but those eyes and that smile weren't like her mother at all.

"She's beautiful" he said in a whisper and she knew the reality of the situation was dawning on him.

"She is. You should meet her, she's got an amazing character." Angela offered a bit shy and Draco smiled.

"Of course she does, you raised her" he said and Angela smiled. The Draco she knew wasn't quick to compliment someone and she didn't really think that changed much, therefore she would cherish this one. "I didn't know. I would've come back" Draco then suddenly exclaimed and Angela smiled kindly at him. "I know. I just had no way of contacting you. I didn't even know if you wanted me too" Angela said honestly once more. This comment was met by a lengthy silence. "It must have been a shock to receive the letter" Draco said after at least ten minutes of silence. "It was, especially because Cassy hid it from me. So eventually it was delivered by Miss McGonagall. That was quite an adjustment."

"She hid it from you?" Draco asked confused.

"she figured it was a joke," Angela explained, " and truth be told, I wasn't sure what to think of it either"

"yes, I can understand that" Draco said.

"Fortunately so did McGonagal. She was very patient and showed us some of her own powers. Afterwards she helped Cassy with some tricks."

"So you started believing her" Draco stated and Angela just chuckled.

"Not really. We didn't really start believing it was all true until we were saying goodbye at the station" she clarified.

"Then why did you go along with it?" Draco asked, still confused by everything.

"I guess Hermione played a huge part in convincing us" Angela said and checked his face to see his reaction the woman's name.

"Yes, she's like that" he simply said, keeping his face in check.

"She's been a great friend" she said.

"I can imagine she has been. I'm glad you've got someone like her. It must be confusing"

"It is. And I know we've got so much to talk about, but I don't really know where to start. What you should know or want to know. I don't really know how to deal with this. What to tell Cassy. Or your son" Angela confessed and Draco smiled ruefully.

"Neither do I" he admitted and silence fell over their conversation once more.


	12. Chapter 11

**Tomorrow is another day

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**

_Chapter 11_

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The next morning Cassy set out to find Rose before breakfast. She wanted to talk to her before Abigail showed up. Abigail was very curious and wanted to turn everything into a scavenger hunt. Cassy wasn't sure what she had discovered and she surely didn't want to turn it into a game for others. If she was really unto something, it could be life-changing for her. That was not a joke.

"Rose," she called out the girl turned around with a smile. Rose said goodbye to the people she was with and skipped over to her friend.

"hi there," Rose exclaimed happily, "What's up?" and Cassy smiled. That girl was always happy.

"I was wondering about something and I need you to help me figure it out" Cassy said and Rose just raised her eyebrows.

"All right, I'll just pretend to understand that" Rose said with a wink and followed her friend to the library.

When they entered the library, Rose and Cassy sat down at a table where Cassy had already put her stuff down. She woke up real early that morning to do some research in the library before she filled Rose in on everything.

"I realised yesterday that Scorpius is also a constellation." Cassy said and Rose chuckled.

"Well I could've told you that" Rose stated, not grasping the meaning of that piece of information.

"Yes and so is my name" Cassy pressed on, begging for Rose to understand. Still she felt her own logic slide away. This was a stretch.

"So?" Rose asked her.

"What do you know about his family?" Cassy asked and knew she'd have take a closer look at all her evidence and logic. Perhaps it was a good thing she went to Rose to discuss this. Without saying anything she made Cassy think more clearly about it all. Abigail would've just jumped to the opportunity to investigate something.

"Not much, they were part of the Voldemort following during the first and second war." Rose said, she never cared enough to find out more. It was no secret that her parents weren't a fan of the family. And she knew her parents weren't particularly close-minded. There was a reason they disliked the entire family. Still her mother always defended them when her father said something nasty about them. Rose figured that was just something her mother did for everyone.

"And their names?" Cassy wondered.

"Are mostly constellations. What are you getting at?" Rose now wondered. She realised that Cassy felt she had discovered something important, but she couldn't grasp it.

"My mom said she named me after a constellation because of my father." Cassy explained.

"You think you might be related?" Rose stated more than asked.

"Well she never explained it any further, but I don't know. That could be it" Cassy said with a blush rushing to her cheeks. It sounded so much more logical in her head last night. As if there was not evidence needed to support it.

"Well what a joy" Rose said sarcastically. And then looked at her friend apologetically. Perhaps they were related and she would have to be supportive of that. Besides, they might not be so bad.

"I…I just want to know where I come from" Cassy said looking at her hands and Rose grabbed her friends hand in her own.

"We'll try and figure this out then" Rose said with a smile and looked over the books before them.

"I don't want anyone else knowing about it. Not yet" Cassy said softly.

"It'll just be us" Rose agreed, "There is no need to involve anyone else".

"Thanks Rose" Cassy said gratefully.

"No problem. I'd want to know too if I were you!" Rose said and with a nod she grabbed half the books on the table.

"Let's take a week to look these over. But our homework has to come first!" Rose said and Cassy agreed with a smile and a nod. She was relieved that Rose was helping her even though it was obvious that Rose thought this was a stretch. And Cassy did know that this could still lead to nothing. But she just wanted to know where she came from. She wanted a chance to meet her father and now that she knew he went to this school, she was willing to follow every single lead. No matter how much of a stretch they seemed to be.

Rose smiled at her friend once more before running into the great hall to grab some toast and heading towards her first class. She understood that this whole investigation was important to Cassy, she just feared that her new friend wasn't prepared for the possible outcomes of this search. It could all turn out to be false. That would be a huge disappointment. But there was also a chance that the possible father would not want to have any interaction with his daughter. That would be worse. She had just met Cassy, but she felt the urge to protect her. And she knew that it might not be an easy task.

Rose felt eyes on her and looked around to find James looking at her with curiosity in his gaze. She shook her head but the way he raised an eyebrow made her realise that he wasn't going to let it rest. He always knew when there was something on her mind and he never let it rest. He would find out what it was and keep going until he helped her solve things.

She knew she would be able to trust him, he was her cousin and possibly the best friend she had, but she would have to convince Cassy of that too. And his jokersact would not make that simple.

She could not help but laugh as she watched him prank Louis. Their other cousin. Louis never really saw James coming in time. Which made him a beloved subject to his jokes. Luckily Louis always laughed the hardest. He had a gift to see the humour in pretty much everything.

And he saw the humour now, while he was getting up from the ground with the help of James. While most first years would've been petrified to go down in front of their peers, Louis didn't care. He was confident enough. Much like her uncle was. Once Louis was back on two feet, James left him and their friends to walk next to Rose. Looking at her while she insisted on looking ahead of her.

"Something going on?" he asked her and she shrugged.

"Nothing much." She replied and he shrugged in return. He left it at that for now.

"What's first?" James then asked and Rose took out her timetable to check.

"Flying" she said excited, " with Ravenclaw!" she then added making James smile.

Together they nearly skipped towards the grounds where the class would take place and took one broom from the cupboard as they were directed to do. Slowly the rest of the students began to grab brooms and when Abigail and Cassy came they saw they were the last two to enter the class. A little ashamed of her apparent tardiness Cassy quickly took a spot next to Rose, while Abigail didn't seem to mind the lateness at all.

"Is everybody ready?" The teacher said, " My name is Madame Hooch and I'll be teaching you to fly. It's all rather simple in theory but don't be afraid to ask for help"

Rose wiggled her eyebrows at James and then looked at her nervous friend to the left.

"Don't worry. You'll do fine" Rose said softly.

"And if you don't, we'll help you" James added a little louder and Cassy smiled at him.

"Thanks guys" Cassy said and then followed the instructions they were given.

Just saying 'up' to a broom seemed strange to say the least. And it did nothing to move her broom from the ground either. Sadly.

"Try it again with a bit more feeling into it" Madame Hooch said again and Cassy took a deep breath before trying it again. James and Rose were already holding their broom and on the second try so was Abigail. And that made Cassy nervous. She didn't want her friends to think she was some kind of loser.

"Don't be so nervous. You're doing fine" Rose whispered and Cassy smiled.

"Remember the first time we did this?" James laughed loudly and Cassy wondered if he had heard Rose's encouragement. James however didn't seem to pay much attention to her distress he just looked at his cousins. Rose and Louis instantly began laughing along.

"We remember" Louis said and turned to Cassy and Abigail to explain, " we were given this lesson by Uncle Harry last year. James was a champ and Rose was quick enough in learning, but I well…I wasn't as good." He said laughing and Cassy admired his ability to admit his shortcomings. She also realised that she didn't suddenly think differently about him.

"He managed to get chased by his broom" Rose continued and Cassy looked at her broom with slight fear.

"I charmed it" James admitted and Cassy nodded in understanding. Abigail laughed loudly and only started laughing harder when she looked at Louis.

"I'm sorry Louis, but I'm just seeing it all happen in my mind" she said in between laughs and he laughed too, but turned slightly red in the cheeks.

"You didn't charm any of these brooms right" Cassy asked, trying to make the question sound like a joke. James just laughed and looked around before bending towards the others.

"No, but the Slytherins are next and I'm planning on jinxing theirs" he said and Rose looked appalled while Louis laughed. Cassy and Abigail weren't sure how to react all together.

"James, you will do no such thing!" Rose exclaimed and James looked bored at his cousin.

"Don't spoil it Rose" he said curtly and Rose just sighed. He never listened to her anyway.

With all the distractions Cassy forgot to worry about her broom and the next time she said up, it actually responded by flying into her palm.

"You did it" Rose whispered excitedly, "I know it's not easy that first time. Especially with all these people around" she added and again Cassy was glad to have met Rose.

"OK now that most have got it, I want you to get on the broom. Put your left leg over it and keep it firm between your thighs. Softly push off and hover a feet from the ground for 10 seconds." Madame Hooch said and again Cassy felt the pressure of wanting to succeed quickly. But this time, she actually was the first to be up in the air. She smiled and looked at Rose who was quickly beside her.

"You're good" Rose said and James quickly agreed with her. Cassy felt her cheeks heat up at the compliment and quickly looked to the other side to find Abigail just pushing off. She seemed to be a bit scared and pushed off harder then was necessary. James quickly manoeuvred his broom to her and kept her still a foot above the ground like instructed.

"I really don't like heights" Abigail said and they could see the fear in her eyes.

"Then go back down now. Madame Hooch will understand. After all you tried" Cassy said and Abigail looked at James for help in the lowering part. He smiled and pushed her down softly.

"I think it's really brave that you tried anyway" Louis said and Abigail flashed a smile at him.

"Thank you" she said and went to Madame Hooch to explain her predicament.

"Maybe this school isn't so bad" Cassy whispered to herself as she looked around her new-found friends and was shocked to hear James chuckle behind her. She didn't want anyone to hear her say that.

"You'll do fine here! And if there is ever a moment that you're not doing fine, we're here" he said softly and Cassy smiled. Rose had a wonderful family.

Later that day she met up with Rose just before walking in the great hall for diner. She looked at the books that Rose was holding and smiled when she saw that her friend had started reading the books already.

"Already finished with Homework?" Cassy asked and Rose laughed.

"Not entirely, but this was a nice distraction. I'll finish my homework tonight." Rose promised and Cassy laughed.

"You know you've got a week to read those books right. You set the time line yourself" Cassy reminded her and Rose nodded.

"I know. I'm taking my time." She explained and then put the books in her bag and walked into the great hall with her friend.

* * *

_A/N: After rereading the last hp book I realised I've made a mistake in this story. I've actually made James and Rose the same age, while Rose and Albus are the same age. In this story Albus is younger then them and the same age as Hugo. While Lily is again younger then they are. As I'm a few chapters into the story already I decided that right now I won't change it. I hope you can all forgive me my mistake haha. _

_Then again I can't help it...I seriously hardly remembered anything from the last book :$ Sad isn't it. It was like reading a whole knew book. So much had happened to me since reading the book years ago that I simply lost all knowledge of the information in the book. _

_So now you know. I hope you can ignore the mistakes in the story and still enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!_


	13. Chapter 12

**Tomorrow is another day

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**

_Chapter 12_**

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**

Their uncomfortable lunch just seemed to stretch on and on, neither knowing what to say to each other. And dancing around the important subjects. It was obvious that neither knew how to start speaking of the things that needed to be said.  
Angela didn't know how to behave around Draco either, furthering the difficulty in finding words to say to him. All she knew was that eleven years had done nothing to her feelings. She had not forgotten about him, and it was obvious now that she hadn't gotten over him either. For years she had pretended that the idea of him left her completely unharmed. Now she found out just what the truth was. The moment he had looked into her eyes, she felt all those familiar butterflies in her stomach. Although they soon turned into rocks, knowing she would have to ignore those feelings.  
Her feelings would not help anyone. After all he was married and she was not about to ruin that for him. Besides, she thought realistically to herself, he would have to return the feelings for anything other than humiliation to come of this. And she was pretty sure he did not.  
It would make things so uncomfortable. After all they would probably be in each others lives from now on. After all he wasn't the kind of guy to deny his child. Or so she hoped anyway.

Draco looked at her and felt trapped in her stare. It was a good thing she didn't realise the effect she had on him. That would make this even harder.  
After all he was married and he loved his wife. He didn't want to screw that up. Astoria meant too much to him for that. And he no longer knew anything about Angela. All he had known was outdated by now. And truth be told, he wondered if he had ever truly known her.  
Right now she seemed even more closed off from the world and it's feelings than she had back when they first met. Surely she always had pretended to be outgoing, but after two weeks with her he had discovered it was all an act. And she had years to take the act to perfection.  
But perhaps he was partly to blame for the closed of woman he saw before him. Draco was very aware of the fact that he had made a mess of his past. And now that mess would haunt him until he fixed it. Until he found a way to fix the chaos he now faced. And he knew that it would all get worse before it got better. After all, this was the kind of situation that just could not blow over easily.

To start he would have to talk, speak up and explain. Angela en Astoria both deserved to hear an explanation, even though he was pretty sure Angela would never ask for one. She was never good at asking for help in any way. Nor was she any good in accepting help. She always thought that she could face everything in life on her own. She always thought she didn't have any other choice.

"I can't believe I've missed 11 years of her life." Draco mumbled, still looking at the picture he laid before him on the table.

"Well she's got plenty of years to come." Angela tried. She had no idea what he was feeling right about now. After all he was confronted with the fact that he never got to be the father of the pretty girl in the picture.

"I have a son as well" Draco said. He figured she knew by now, but he just had to tell her.

"I heard. What is he like?" Angela asked him, trying to ease the tension a bit. And what better way than to ask a parent of their child.

"Like me in my younger years, but better" Draco admitted with a smile as he thought of his son. Though he looked like his father by looks, his character was much less conflicted. He was braver, more confident and less self-centred.

"I bet" Angela laughed. After she had heard of the Draco in High School, she could not imagine him letting his own child grow up and turn into the same person. Draco had grown up too much for that. Even though he was still very young when Angela had met him first.

"No really. Astoria raised him like most purebloods raise their children, but she made sure he would never think that pureblood made him superior" Draco explained proudly. He really thought his wife did a great job in raising their son in a way that would make him one of the good guys.

"She sounds like a wonderful woman." Angela said.

"She is" Draco agreed.

"Does she know about me?" Angela asked a bit uncertain.

"Well she does now, but she doesn't know much" Draco admitted begrudgingly. He felt ashamed of his reluctance to speak to his wife about the situation. He had been very selfish.

"What are you planning on telling her?" Angela asked curious.

"I've got no idea. She deserves to know everything, but I'm not sure what that is." Draco said, looking at his hands. He had been selfish, because he really didn't know how to handle the situation. He should have told Astoria that. She would have been more patient, more understanding, he was sure of it.

"How long have you two been together?" Angela wanted to know everything about his life.

"We were kinda together before I met you, but we were on a break" Draco said avoiding her gaze and he could just imagine the intake of breath that she was struggling with after that sentence.

"On a break?" she asked, feeling a bit crushed. She had been nothing but a rebound. The other woman, to make the man feel better. She had probably meant nothing.

"I know, I've been a real jerk to you both. I just needed space from my life and never thought I'd run into someone like you" Draco quickly said, hoping to explain himself.

"And when you went back to this life you never thought of telling her?" Angela asked confused. He suddenly seemed nothing like the man she had loved all those years.

"I didn't know how and after a while I reasoned to myself that I would never see you again, so it would only hurt her" Draco said, feeling more and more ashamed of his own actions by the minute.

"That just sounds…" Angela began but he cut her off.

"Cowardice. I know" he finished her sentence.

"not the word I was going to use, but I'll accept it" she said jokingly. And he smiled. She was trying to make him feel better even though he just hurt her with his explanations, he knew that he did.

"She wanted to talk to you" Draco said to her.

"well that would be something. Should I be scared of her?" Angela asked jokingly trying to make it sound like a light-hearted joke. But she was actually serious.

"No of course not. She just wants to know if her family is safe" Draco was quick to assure her.

"But that's something only you can convince her off" Angela offered, knowing he would have a more difficult task once he got home.

"I know" Draco sighed. His job was by no means over. The chaos was not fixed yet.

Astoria stared through the window of 12 temple place and felt hot tears prickle her eyes. Earlier she had gone by Draco's work for lunch, she had wanted to surprise him. After all their marriage had not been what it was supposed to be and she wanted to show him she still wanted to make it work. His assistant had told her that he had an appointment and she figured it was workrelated. She knew all the people he worked with and they usually liked it when she came to interrupt their conversations. Simply because it was a distraction from their day to day life. And she could be quite charming when she wanted to be.

So she set off to the restaurant and tried to find him through the window before entering the door. She was glad she had done so, she really didn't want to walk in anymore. She never expected this. He was sitting there with Angela, laughing. Allright, just smiling and not full on laughing, but still he was with Angela. And he had not told her about it. It broke her heart, because it felt so much like betrayal. She knew talking didn't mean anything, but the fact that he hid it from her did mean something. It meant the world to her.

Later that day Draco left his work, feeling a little lighter. He knew where he stood with Angela and her…their daughter. Though he was sure Angela needed time to mull things over, he knew she wasn't holding a grudge against him. She wanted him to meet his daughter and to be a part of her life. Now he would have to speak to Astoria and he figured it wouldn't be too tough, because he finally had something to tell her and that meant the world to him. He understood everything a bit better and now he could explain it to her. He could start planning the reparations to his life. She wouldn't be happy with all he had to tell her, but she would be happy that he was explaining it all to her. That he was opening up and being honest.

Of course he didn't plan on his wife knowing where he had been that afternoon.

"So how was work?" Astoria asked simply when Draco walked into the kitchen. He raised an eyebrow and looked around. Normally she would've had dinner ready already.

"Good" he said a little wary. The moment Astoria changed her daily routine, something was wrong.

"I came over today but they said you were out for lunch." She said calmly.

"Yes, I had an appointment" Draco replied, still cautious. He wasn't sure where this conversation was going. And he wasn't sure if he wanted to know either.

"Really? I didn't know. Important?" she asked him.

"Kinda" Draco said not liking to talk about his lunch, not like this. He had planned on telling her all about it after dinner.

"I see…,"she started and after a little pause continued, "So how is Angela doing these days?" Astoria then asked, not really interested in the answer. She just wanted to show that she had seen him. As she watched his eyes grow bigger and the colour leave his cheeks, she knew he figured it out. She took that as her cue to leave the room.

Draco sat back in his chair, feeling crushed. This was not how he had planned everything. And this was not a good change to his plans. He wasn't sure if Astoria would listen to him anymore. She might be too angry to wait for his explanations. And he really couldn't blame her. He truly made a mess of his life and he didn't know how to fix it.

* * *

_A/N: I want to thank everyone for the reviews I've been receiving! I try to reply to every one but if some slipped through than I apologise. I do appreciate them! _  
_I post this story on more than one site and since I've asked readers on another site to give me an opinion I want your as well!_

_Who do you want Draco to end up with? Astoria, Angela or neither... Let me know. I've got an idea of how I want it all to turn out, but I'm curious what you guys want!_


	14. Chapter 13

**Tomorrow is another day

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**

_Chapter 13 _**

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**

The next few weeks passed quickly for Cassy. And for the first time in her life she felt like she was truly fitting in somewhere. Well other then with her mother of course. She had become closer too Rose and Abigail during the time they spend together. And she had come to understand that James and Louis were quite fun to hang out with as well. James had come to her aid more then once and she really appreciated it. He never made her feel stupid or indebted to him. He just wanted to be her friend. And having friends made her more confident about herself.

Cassy had come to understand and appreciate Abigail better. She was still on the prowl for guys that were cute, as she had been since they arrived at the school, but she proved herself to be a really good friend as well. When Cassy had broken down in their dorm three weeks into the term because she missed her mother so much, Abigail simply sat with her and hugged her. She didn't say anything then or later. Though she didn't not suffer from homesickness, she had been so understanding. Ever since then she had been determined to make Cassy feel at home. Abigail had confessed that she never wanted anyone to feel alone. That was when Cassy was convinced that Abigail was a great person.

Rose had been as amazing as ever and kept up with all the crazy talk about finding Cassy's father. She was kind and supportive. And she could make anyone smile.

With all these friends surrounding her, Cassy had realised that finding her father somehow wasn't as pressing anymore. She still wanted to find out who he was, but she understood now that the friends and family she already had were far more important. They had all been so great towards her and she was going to make sure that she would be there for them as they were for her.

Still, even with that new realisation on friendships and family, Cassy and Rose had been trying to figure out more about her father, Unfortunately for them, they had hit a wall only shortly after they began. They figured out that Scorpius Malfoy was a relative of the Blackfamily. And some of the more prominent Black lines had been naming their children after constellations for quite a few decades now. This discovery made both girls quite certain they were in for a impossible task. The long list of people using constellations in their children's names, showed them this. Over the centuries the family had become rather large, as most old families often do, and this fact offered too many possible relatives for Cassy to even begin to investigate.

Stubborn as Rose was though, they did not give up.

"We started this and we won't quite until there is no other option! All right?" she had said to her friend and Cassy just smiled. She didn't want to stop looking, even if the situation was unworkable.

Therefore they had spend the following weeks narrowing down their search. They eliminated deceased male members, older members and the young ones. They were left with a list of relatives that would have been able to be her father. This however still gave them too many variables.

They had made it their mission to read into the lives of most the members on this list, but they had not been able to figure out how any of them could've met Cassy's mother. It was starting to look like a futile search.

"Perhaps, I'm not related to them. Perhaps that was just wishful thinking. Perhaps my father just liked constellations" Cassy had said after a particularly long night of reading in the library. Rose just shrugged her shoulders, she had no idea what the truth would be. She just could not help but agree with the hopelessness of this search.

"Perhaps you should ask you mother again." Rose offered and Cassy silently agreed with her. She would ask her mother, and this time she would not take no for an answer. She really wanted to know who her father was. Where she belonged. And if she had more family then just her mother.

Until she would be able to ask her mother, however, Cassy was content with being accepted into the family of Rose and James. After all they were pretty amazing to her. And her mother seemed to get along with their parents, this would make it much easier to keep in touch with her new-found friends outside of school.

During the weeks school itself had proven to be great as well. Cassy found that homework was manageable and she didn't seem to be behind on anything. Most classes were even fun to endure. Except for flying. Though she did get the hang of it after two classes, she did not enjoy it very much. Two feet from the ground didn't bother her too much, but she had discovered that she wasn't a huge fan of bigger heights. The moment they were told to go higher by madame Hooch, Cassy had freaked out. Unfortunately for her, she had been a lot less graceful then Abigail had been during their first lesson. There had been screaming involved and some tears even, it had not been a pretty picture. Madame Hooch had sent Cassy to the school nurse, hoping the woman could calm her down with some potion. Luckily Abigail had gone with her and not laughed at her once. James had though, a few days later when the shock had worn off.

They had been sitting at the lake with the five of them, when James suddenly started sniggering. Louis could not help but join in. Rose and Abigail didn't join in but Cassy was aware that she would not have been able to blame them.

"I'm sorry Cas, but it was quite funny" James said in-between sniggers, "you were just flapping away with your legs and arms, hoping that would direct the broom to the ground."

"I wasn't really graceful about it was I" Cassy said a bit embarrassed.

"That would be the understatement of the year" Louis muttered and at this they all started laughing.

"I really didn't know heights bothered me that much" Cassy said and James laughed even louder.

"Well you figured it out quite brilliantly" he said and then just continued laughing for a good ten minutes. This really didn't help her feel less embarrassed but she could hardly be angry. They all kept their laughter for a good three days. While the other students didn't even hold it in for a minute.

Another plus to the school had been that, unlike most of her new-found friends, Cassy had not been in detention once. Something her friends admired and ridiculed at the same time. But she was OK with that. She knew that her mother wouldn't like to hear she was put in detention. Besides that, she really didn't have the nerve to rebel against the rules. Cassy had always appreciated rules. She liked obeying rules. Rules gave clarity. They were good guidelines to living life.

The only thing she had been persuaded to do was walk through the school with James, Louis, Abigail and Rose. Though something told her that is was not entirely allowed, she had fun with them. And she always made sure they were back in their dorms before curfew.

Since is was now almost time for winterbreak, Cassy was getting more and more restless. She was going to ask her mother questions that she was not very comfortable asking. But she was happy she was going to see her mother again, they had never been apart for this long before. In fact, Cassy could not remember a time where they had been separated for longer then school hours.

To rid herself of this restlessness she had started taking walks along the lake. This cleared her mind and with the cold there was nobody that was willing to accompany her. Rose had given her charms to warm herself properly, but never once offered to come along. She seemed to understand that Cassy needed time alone. She seemed to understand that being surrounded by people all the time was a lot for a girl who until recently only had her mother. Cassy had made it no secret to Rose nor Abigail that she never really had family or friends. There was only her mother. So this was all new and took some getting used too, no matter how much she loved it.

And it became a habit for her to walk around the lake and sit down against one of the trees surrounding it. Of course she steered clear of the forest, that was forbidden property after all.

Today was no different from others. After walking for almost an hour, Cassy sat down by the lake and leaned against the tree nearest to the school entrance. It felt safe there. She stared out over the lake she had come to love in the time she had been here. It was so serene; soothing to the nerves of an insecure 11 year old. She sighed contentedly, she had really come to love this school and it's grounds.

It wasn't until nearly an hour later that she heard soft footsteps behind her. She smiled, knowing her visitor wouldn't see it. She had expected this. She didn't really bother to turn around. She knew that once she made a routine of her visits to the lake, he would eventually get enough courage to approach her. And she had avoided him long enough without ever having a good reason for that. Other then her gutfeeling telling her that she did not want to hear what he obviously really wanted to say or ask her.

"Can I sit with you?" Scorpius asked politely and Cassy nodded. He always stayed polite, even when she infuriated him to no end. And she knew she really had infuriated him since they met.

"It's beautiful here isn't it" he said and again she nodded, before turning her head towards him and smile. She didn't want him to think that her silence was any indication of unkindness.

When she looked at him though, she realised he did not have a charm to stay warm, like her. He was shivering all over and she chuckled before quickly chanting the simple charm. He smiled at her when he felt warmth return to his body. Relaxing he too slanted back against the tree.

"Where'd you learn that?" he asked, it was not like him to be behind on anyone when it came to spells and charms. He was the best student in his house and he was proud of that.

"Rose taught it to me" Cassy explained and he just nodded. His father had always said that Rose's mother was able to outdo anyone academically. It was only logic that her daughter would do as well.

"So what brings you here?" Cassy asked as she relaxed against a tree.

"nothing, just out for some air" he said and even to his own ears that sounded ridiculous.

"Sure you are" Cassy snorted. He made no excuses and she didn't press, instead they took the time to just sit silently and stare out over the water. Cassy could not help but notice that the air wasn't tense, like she imagined it would be. She felt the same tranquillity she felt before Scorpius had taken a seat next to her.


	15. Chapter 14

_A/N: I really struggled with this chapter...so I could use some feedback! I hope it's to your liking._  
_Also I'd still like to hear what you all think about my question in the last chapter...: Who should Draco be with?_  
_Like I said before I do have things planned out already, but I wonder if that is what everyone wants to read. And if you guys see the characters as I intended them to be seen._

_Now without futher ado, the chapter!_

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**Tomorrow is another day **

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_Chapter 14

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It had been weeks since Astoria had left Draco sitting in their kitchen and the situation had not improved in the slightest. Draco had been trying to make it up to Astoria. He apologised for lying, for not including her in the conversation he had with Angela. And he tried to explain why he did what he did. But Astoria had not been willing to listen to him yet. She wasn't sure when she would be, but she was aware that Christmas was coming quick and she knew she could not let Scorpius come home to this. Whatever _this_ was. The boy deserved better than that.

Scorpius was already aware that their family wasn't like others. He never saw his grandfather and rarely saw his grandmother. Other relatives weren't around either. Not on the Malfoy side. And her family wasn't exactly warm and comforting to a young boy. They never understood that Astoria married Draco. After all Draco's family wasn't very popular in the years after the war. But Astoria had always been in love with him and she really didn't care about his family not then and not now. She only cared about their own little family.

She sighed and got up from behind her desk, while looking at the empty bed before her. After his first attempt at apologising to her, she had told Draco that she did not want him in her bed. She had banned him from their room and he was currently sleeping in one of the guestrooms. Though she knew the complaints were forming in his mind constantly, he was smart enough not to voice any of them.

At first Astoria had been tempted to sent him to his mother, but that would've done nothing to help their marriage. It would lead to gossip and gossip would reach Hogwarts before she would be able to even blink. She could not let her son find out about the problems his parents were having, especially not through gossip. She wasn't sure if she even wanted him to know they were having problems.

And that brought her to her current problem. She didn't know how she was going to go about talking to Draco. She was still so angry and hurt. She was afraid that she wasn't going to be able to be civil. And another argument would not help their situation whatsoever.

A little ways away was Angela looking at kitchen window from her place at the kitchentable. That was the window that owls usually used to hand her letters. That's the window Hermione's majestic barn owl usually chose.

But this time she was not expecting a letter from Hermione. Hermione had only just left her house to go back home. No, right now, she was waiting for something, anything from Draco.

It had been weeks since they spoke and she had not heard anything from him. They still had not thought of a gameplan about the story they were going to tell their children.

Both had decided that Astoria needed to be a part of that plan. She needed to have some input. After all she was Scorpius' mother. But she was also a victim in the current situation and Angela did not expect the three-way conversation would've happened in the first few days after her meeting with Draco. However, she did not expect it to be weeks before they would sit themselves down at the same table.

She had already asked Hermione to be a part of the conversations as well, simply because she felt vulnerable when faced with the married couple. Hermione had agreed and now both had been waiting for an invitation. The wait seemed endless.

And after Hermione told her that neither Draco nor Astoria had made many public appearances, Angela had been hit by the feeling of foreboding. Something seemed to be going on since rumour had it that Astoria had not missed a single public event ever since she graduated high school.

Draco was getting more and more worried with the holidays around the corner. He knew that something had to be done in the current situation. Something had to change, and he knew he would have to truly make Astoria listen to him in order to better his ordeal.

While he was trying to make his wife forgive him, he had neglected to write to Angela. He knew he wasn't being the best version of himself. He knew he promised to write to her once he had spoken to his wife. He feared that speaking to Angela without his wife being in on that conversation was only going to make matters worse. Not just for himself and his marriage, but also for Angela and Cassy. Astoria would be that much more difficult if she felt that she was being wronged. Surely she wasn't mean enough to keep him away from his daughter, but she needed to trust him around Angela for their marriage to work. If she did not, it would make meetings with Cassy extremely uncomfortable.

He had manoeuvred himself into quite the difficult situation and he knew there was nobody to blame but himself. He had handled pretty much everything wrong since they ran into Angela on platform 9¾.

Now time was running out on him and he knew he had to act, soon. He needed Astoria to listen to him and he needed her to agree to a conversation with Angela so they could plan the steps that needed to be taken once their children came home.

He really wanted to meet his daughter. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry for walking out on her mother and never looking back. He wanted to apologise for missing so much of her life already.

And yet he wasn't sure he wanted Scorpius to know that he had not always been the best person. He was afraid that Scorpius would be less then proud of his father once he found out the truth. He didn't want his son to think any less of him, but he knew it was nearly inevitable.

He stood up and intended to find his wife immediately. They needed to speak about this.

But when he heard the front door slam he realised he'd have to wait a little while longer.

Astoria left the house in a hurry and just hoped that Draco didn't think about following her. Not today. She needed to do this alone. This being, facing her demons.

She apparated into an alley in the heart of London and walked quickly to the 12 temple place. In a flash she saw Draco and Angela sitting at a table, laughing, flirting. But she shook that image from her mind and sat down across from Angela.

Angela had not seen Astoria come in and jumped slightly when she noticed the woman was sitting in front of her already. She had been quite nervous about this meeting and she had little time to prepare herself for it. Astoria had asked her to meet in an hour. One hour.

Angela never really liked that. She needed time to prepare. Time to think of proper things to say. Time, just time. Escpecially when meeting a woman that had obvious reason to dislike her.

"Hi," Angela started a little timid. She could not blame Astoria if she chose to hate Angela. After all Angela had come into her life out of the blue and obviously caused quite the amount of turmoil. Nobody deserved that. And perhaps Angela was feeling even more guilty, because she discovered that she still had feelings for Draco. Not that she was planning on doing anything with those feelings, but she was scared it would show at some point. Because nothing could stay hidden forever. And she wasn't sure if she could discard of the feelings quickly enough. She could only hope.

"Hello" Astoria replied and took of her coat slowly, not looking at Angela directly. If Angela only knew that Astoria was just as nervous about this meeting. Astoria had so much too lose. If she handled the situation wrong she could just ruin her marriage completely.

"I'm not really sure what to say except that I'm sorry" Angela said, trying to break the tense silence.

"Why are you sorry?" Astoria asked bluntly, noticing that her tone of voice could be considered unfriendly. Mentally she tried to knock some sense into herself. Angela was not at fault.

"Because I really had no intention of bringing chaos into your life." Angela said softly.

"I know. I don't really think you ever expected to see Draco again. And you definitely didn't think of a wife" Astoria said in what she hoped to was a much friendlier tone.

"Not really no" Angela admitted honestly.

"I never knew about you" Astoria confessed. She had wanted to pretend that her and Draco were really open about everything, but she knew that lying her way through this conversation would not help anyone.

"I never knew about you either" Angela replied, knowing that the statement was unnecessary.

"So your child is really his?" Astoria said, her angry tone slipping back into the words.

"Yes she is, would you like to see a picture" Angela said while trying to keep smiling. Astoria wasn't really making this any easier. But Angela knew that she should not let her emotions get to her, not now. She needed to get through this conversation for Cassy.

"uhm, well sure" Astoria said a little unsure. She really didn't want to see the child her husband had with another woman, but she knew that she would have to face the girl at some point.

"Here she is" Angela said, pushing forward a picture of Cassy.

"She is pretty. She's got his smile…and his eyes" Astoria said softly, as if saying out loud would suddenly make it all real. As if unspoken Astoria could keep on pretending this wasn't happening.

"Yes she does" Angela agreed, knowing Astoria was just letting it all sink in. She didn't need words from Angela now, she needed a few minutes to get herself together.

"That must have been hard on you" Astoria said finally.

"It wasn't all that bad. We did all right" Angela answered honestly but a little evasive.

"Good, but that's not what I meant." Astoria said and Angela smiled, Astoria wasn't easily fooled.

"I know" she replied and just sighed. Astoria was trying to lure her out, trying to get her to say something about having his child and having to live with the fact that she looked like her father. She probably was just waiting for Angela to say that it was though having to look at the face of your lost lover. And it had been at first. But Angela saw beyond that. Cassy was so much more than just Draco's daughter. Or her daughter. Cassy was so much more than any of that. And so Angela kept quite and avoided the question Astoria had implied.

"I'm not sure how to say this. You seem really nice. But I'm not sure I will ever be OK with your existence." Astoria said with a sigh and Angela just nodded. She had expected this. She also expected a whole load of anger, so this was actually better than expected.

"I understand" Angela said and figured it was time to grab her bag, until Astoria started speaking again.

"I will let her in our lives though. Every kid deserves a father" Astoria said and Angela felt her heart go out for the broken woman before her. Even though her world was upside down and she was hurting, she was showing kindness and fairness to Cassy, a girl she never met.

"I really appreciate that" Angela said in all honesty. She had figured she would have to fight to get to that point.

"Draco doesn't know I'm here" Astoria than quickly said while grabbing her purse, as though death was on her heels.

"Do you like to keep it that way?" Angela asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes very much so" Astoria said, hoping this could indeed remain their secret.

"All right" Angela said with a smile and watched as Astoria quickly stood up. It had been a short but intensely uncomfortable meeting and both women could not wait to go their own way.

Angela understood why Harry and Ron had been wishing her luck at least a dozen times earlier that day. Astoria was used to giving orders. She was used to people going her way. Doing what she wanted to be done. And yet she wasn't at all mean as Angela had expected. And she couldn't really blame the woman for being hostile towards her. She probably would've done the same. Still she felt drained of energy after the encounter and she could use some friendly companion.


	16. Chapter 15

**Tomorrow is another day

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_Chapter 15 _**

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RECAP:

_Since there was a delay between de last few chapters (shame, shame) I've decided to add a bit of a recap for you guys: The last chapter with Cassy, a few weeks had passed and she was finally feeling like she fitted in somewhere. Rose and Abigail had become good friends and the rest of Rose's family wasn't far behind on the friends-list. And having these people around here made her realise that she already had en pretty good life, even without finding her father. Still Rose and Cassy had been trying to figure out who could possibly be Cassy's father. But they were coming up empty. There were too many possibilities and all they had to go on were wild guesses. They promised to keep going but it was looking rather bleak. _

_Other then the search though things were going well for Cassy. Her school work was good and she was just having fun. _

_She had taken up a new habit of walking around the lake. And one day Scorpius approached her there. They talked a bit and didn't even feel uncomfortable like Cassy had thought it would be. It felt good, right even.

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_Start of chapter 15:_

The next few weeks Scorpius joined Cassy at the lake more often. Never during the walks though, he'd show up once she sat down. As if that was his signal that he was wanted. Sometimes they would talk and sometimes they would simply sit in silence. Cassy knew that he wanted to ask her something, she had known that was why he sat with her from the start. But she didn't want to press him on it. There must have been a good reason that he wasn't open about it. And after all the miscommunication in the first few weeks they knew each other, she decided to just keep her lips sealed until he was ready. There was a peace between them that she did not want to disturb.

Cassy never liked conflict and this peace between her and Scorpius seemed fragile. She was afraid that she would cause conflict once she broke it. Silly perhaps, but that was just how she felt.

Rose thought it was nice that Scorpius looked for her company, but James seemed to have some trouble accepting the fact. Apparently his uncle made it clear that he was not to be liked.

"Just because he and Scorpius' father did not get along doesn't mean we should hate the son" Rose had countered when James voiced his opinion and Cassy had been happy with that.

All Abigail seemed to see was that Scorpius was cute and available. To her it didn't matter that most their age didn't really bother with dating yet. She was simply passing time. And scooping out the rest of the student body.

Louis has kept quiet about the whole ordeal, simply because he didn't feel the need to share his opinion, but something told Cassy that he trusted her new friend about as much as James did.

But instead of responding Cassy had let them all voice their opinions and remained silent. She simply accepted that they didn't agree. She accepted that her new-found friendship would be something she would not share with the friends she had made earlier that year.

Besides she was far to curious, about the things Scorpius could possibly want to speak to her about, to walk away now.

It was the Thursday before they were to go home for Christmas when Scorpius finally got around to his question. And it wasn't really a question that Cassy was suspecting and she wasn't sure how she should respond to it either.

"Cas?" Scorpius said, his voice soft but strong. He was determined, she could tell.

"Yes?" she replied in wonder.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked her and she was, for a moment, inclined to say 'you already did' but something told her that this was not the time for jokes.

"Sure?" she said instead and leaned back against the tree, waiting for him to go on.

"Do you know how our parents could've possibly met?" he asked and Cassy was obviously confused and perhaps a little shocked. Scorpius quickly realised that he should've been more subtle, not so blunt as he had been. A trait his father often called him on. He really needed to listen to his father more often.

"They know each other?" she asked and he understood the extend of his mistake.

"You didn't know?" he asked and she laughed.

"No I didn't know. So that's why you would ask about me but never speak to me?" Cassy said still laughing and Scorpius felt his cheeks turn red. And with his fair complexion there was no hiding it.

"That probably looked pretty weird. Guess I now know why you were avoiding me" Scorpius replied.

"Really, because I can't even explain it properly to myself" Cassy admitted and he laughed now, making her turn bright red.

"So what makes you think they have met?" Cassy asked him after a few moments of laughter. She was interested, confused and most of all extremely curious about this. The expression Curiosity killed the cat, would one day catch up with her she was sure of that.

"They ran into one another while our train was leaving the station. I just wanted to wave at my parents one more time, but they really didn't pay much attention to the train anymore." He confessed and Cassy felt bad for him. He sounded so hurt. As if he felt rejected by this.

"Really?" Cassy asked, subtly pressing him to go on.

"My father looked like he'd seen a ghost. And my mother was just looking confused." Scorpius said softly, as if he was ashamed of telling her that.

"How do you know it was my mother they had run into?" Cassy asked confused. She'd never shown him a picture of her or anything.

"You look like her. I mean I only saw the side of her face, but…" he explained and Cassy nodded, she understood. She wasn't the spitting image of her mother but there were some definite similarities. She believed him immediately. Something Rose later berated her for, apparently she was supposed to have asked more questions.

"I guess we'll have to figure this out then." She then said and sighed. Was this the link she had been searching for? The link to her father? Perhaps Scorpius's parents knew who he was. Perhaps she would finally completely understand where she came from. Know where her roots lay. And why her mother had never gone on a date as long as she could remember.

"How do you want to go about this?" he asked her.

"Well, I was just thinking about asking my mother and you could ask your father." Cassy said matter-of-factly. She wasn't really good a scheming so why try it now. Her mother had always been honest with her. Pretty much anyway. There had always been certain subjects that her mother had always avoided talking about with her, but even then her mother had been open about that. And Cassy had always simply accepted it. She had always trusted her mothers judgement.

"What if they don't tell us anything?" Scorpius asked and Cassy pondered that for a little while. She didn't really expect him to ask her that.

"Then we'll have to get more creative" She finally said and he chuckled.

"How?" he asked her, not really knowing what she meant by getting more creative. Honestly though, neither did she.

"Arrange for them to run into one another while we're there as well" Cassy offered as an option. She wasn't sure how they would do that, but it was something of an idea anyway. It was a start.

"Are you sure you belong in Ravenclaw?" Scorpius chuckled and Cassy shrugged.

"Pretty sure" she answered and knew that hanging out with James and Louis was paying off in the scheming part of life.

"So how long do we give them to answer our questions?" Scorpius asked and again Cassy shrugged.

"I really don't know, what do you think?" she asked him and he thought it over for a while.

"One week and then we write each other about the progress? Good idea?" he suggested with an uncertain shrug. He wasn't sure how to go about this either. After all his father had been raised to scheme and Scorpius was sure that his father would see right through his plans. At least if they were clear from the start. If they were to plan one step at a time, he might have a chance.

"Sounds like a good plan" Cassy agreed with him.

"This will be an interesting Christmas, don't you think?" Scorpius joked and Cassy smiled at him.

"Absolutely" she agreed. Cassy just feared that interesting wouldn't be positive. She thought of all the changes her life and that of her mother had gone through in the past few months and she wasn't sure how they would respond to any more changes in their life.

That evening during dinner Cassy filled Rose and Abigail in on all the new information she had required through Scorpius. She told them everything he had told her and she also informed them on their plans to uncover the truth. The responses the girls gave could not have been any more different. While Abigail was sure that this meant she would figure it all out, Rose was more sceptic. But then again, Abigail was a true believer of Fairy tales. She always liked to believe in the 'they lived happily ever after'. That's how everyone would end up, to her believe. Rose was more down to earth, realistic and she analysed the situation best she could. Right now Cassy was glad to have these opposites. Abigail's reaction was encouraging, while Rose's reaction kept her feet firmly on the ground. She did not want to get her hopes up or stare into one direction blindly like she had done once she found out that Scorpius was also named after a constellation.

When Abigail left to find herself a 'dreamy' study-partner, Rose scanned the hall and saw that most people had already left. She looked back at Cassy and knew she had to say something. She was just scared that Cassy would be angry for what she was about to say.

"Let's go for a small walk before curfew" Cassy said and they stood up and left the great hall.

"Cassy?" Rose started more then a little hesitant.

"Yes?" Cassy said with a smile, not noticing her friend's troubled face.

"I'm scared for you" Rose said and Cassy stopped in her tracks.

"Why are you scared for me?" Cassy asked her confused.

"Because if this is another dead-end it will hurt so much" Rose explained and Cassy felt her heart swell. Even though the girls didn't know each other that long, Cassy knew that she found a friend for a lifetime in Rose.

"I know that it might be nothing. And I know that it might hurt, but that's why I have you and Abby right?" Cassy said and linked her arm with Rose's.

"Of course, you'll have us. But try not to get your hopes up too high, please" Rose tried to warn her again, but she also knew that Cassy wouldn't really listen right now.

"I won't, I promise" Cassy said and kept smiling as they walked through the corridors.

Rose had been this hesitant when they had told Abigail everything about their search for Cassy's father as well. Though Rose liked the other girl, she wasn't sure if they were going to be able to keep it a secret from the boys with a chatty girl like Abigail. But when Abigail had walked in on them while they were still going through books and ideas, Cassy felt that she could not lie to her friend.

And Abigail had proven to be a great friend.

Therefore Cassy was sure that Rose would just need some time to adjust to this new development. Everything would work out all right and Rose would see that Cassy had it all under control all this time. Still until time had come where everything had worked itself out, she would try to temper her joy for Rose's sake.

That night, while Cassy was packing up her belongings, she took a good look around the room in which she had spend her nights over the past few months. Somehow it already felt like home and that was something she had not expected to happen. When she first left home it was scary and she was scared to be the odd one out. She was afraid she wouldn't make friends or be good at anything. She was scared that she would miss her mother too much to enjoy anything.

She was so scared the first two weeks and so tense all the time. It was strange to see how at ease she was now. Surely it took some time but she liked how far she had come. It showed that she was able to change, something she didn't think possible.

Abigail smiled from her bed, as she watched her friend look around the room reminiscing like she had done too. She had done her packing earlier that day and was just keeping Cassy company. And of course asking her all about Tom and Scorpius. Those boys were totally cool, even if Cassy wasn't seeing it yet.

The next morning, when Cassy stepped into the train, she locked eyes with Scorpius and by his determined smile she could tell that he was ready to execute their plan. She smiled back and followed Abigail to the seats she had commandeered for them. This was going to be an interesting holiday.

Abigail smiled as they said down and immediately began telling everyone about the amazing things she was going to do that holiday, while Cassy just looked out the window. Dreaming of what could be.


	17. Chapter 16

**Tomorrow is another day

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_Chapter 16_**

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When she called Hermione's house though, Ginny picked up the phone. Something she had not anticipated. She was slightly shocked and not sure the other woman thought of her as a friend yet. She had been more then kind to Angela, but that did not a friendship make.

"Hello?" she heard the voice of the redhead saying a little unsure. Hermione had explained to Angela that a phone was not common in the wizarding world. Most had never seen one. Therefore she was not the least bit surprised that the woman answered the phone with uncertainty.

"Hi this is Angela" she said and was about to apologise and hang up with the woman on the other end gave a relieved sigh.

"I hoped it would be, I don't know what I would've done it had been a stranger" Ginny laughed and Angela could not help but chuckle along.

"I was just wondering if Hermione was home" Angela then asked.

"She's at work." Ginny explained.

"Oh" was all Angela could say.

"Wait didn't you have a meeting today?" Ginny then asked, her tone voicing her concern.

"Yes I did" Angela answered with a deep sigh.

"Well why don't you come over. I'm sure you could use some time to recover from the blows Astoria is known to give out" Ginny said and Angela was glad for the kindness she heard. She hadn't had much time with Ginny, but so far she seemed to be just a good a person as Hermione.

"Thanks, you wouldn't mind?" Angela asked a little timid.

"Not at all!" Ginny said chuckling.

* * *

When Astoria came home she found her husband waiting for her. He looked so determined that she almost laughed. After all those weeks he finally got up the courage to speak to her.

"Honey, we need to talk about this" Draco began and Astoria smiled ruefully.

"A talk is long overdue." Astoria sighed but followed him into the salon anyway.

"Meaning?" He asked her confused. He knew his wife well enough to know that she anted to say something. But she didn't.

"Just say what's on your mind." She said after counting to ten, she could feel her anger rising. She wasn't ready to talk about their situation but she also knew she could not wait any longer. In only a few days their son would be home and something needed to change.

"I'm so sorry about how things turned out" Draco started.

"I know" she sighed and sat down on the couch. She knew he was sorry. She knew he regretted how everything turned out. She just wished that he would've learned by now how to handle situations like these. Instead he was still the 18 year old boy she got engaged too all those years ago.

"We need to figure out what to do about this situation we're in" Draco continued, still uncertain. She seemed somewhat down, wired. That was never good. It meant that she was emotionally drained and she was quicker to lash out on such occasions.

"I know," she said again, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples.

"Well do you have any suggestions?" Draco asked her. He was going to let her take the lead. He didn't need to step on her toes now.

"Do you?" She countered and he sighed. She wasn't letting him off the hook.

"We need to tell Scorpius the truth. I'm just not sure how" he said.

"And I'm wondering about the when part" Astoria said, looking up at her husband.

"I was thinking about telling him when he got home. But I want to do it together." Draco told her and she chuckled.

"My mother is here the first week. I don't need her involvement and neither do you" she reminded him.

"But then when will we tell?" he asked her exasperate.

"I don't know, perhaps the second week." She offered and she knew his reaction the moment she realised the words she had used.

"Perhaps?" he asked her confused.

"Yes, I am really not sure how to handle the situation yet and I need to have that part clear, don't you think?" she explained with a slightly bitter tone.

"You're not sure? Meaning?" Draco sighed.

"I don't know yet." Astoria exclaimed. She was getting a massive headache and this conversation was not making it any better.

"Are you going to keep me away from my daughter?" Draco asked her. He knew she was angry about the situation but she never thought she would stoop this low.

"No, of course not. But I don't want her mother around you" Astoria told him.

"Remember that I married you! Not her." Drac reminded her.

"And just how much of that decision had to do with her not fitting into this world?" she yelled at him and he was momentarily staggered by this. Suddenly he understood what she was feeling. She was as scared for their marriage as he was but she was scared because she suddenly doubted the whole foundation of it.

"I" he didn't know what words would take away her doubts, her insecurities concerning this.

"That's what I thought. And that has changed now." Astoria said, finally letting out the worries she's had ever since she learned of Angela's existence.

"I'm still married to you, that hasn't changed has it?" Draco asked her. Angry that she was making it seem that all they had suddenly meant nothing.

"No but we shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking that our marriage is all it was supposed to be. And I don't need the fear of her reeling you back in hanging over me while we work on us" Astoria yelled once more and closed her eyes again. Even the light was hurting her eyes now.

"She is the mother, she will be a part of our lives once we let Cassiopeia in" Draco explained to her. He knew that they would not be able to keep Angela out of their lives completely. And he wasn't sure if he even wanted too.

"I know that. Which is why I am telling you I need time to figure out how to work this all out." Astoria said in softer tones.

"We don't have that much time anymore" Draco tried to reason with her.

"Well, you're just going to have to wait a little longer" she said angrily and stalked off.

"By the way, when he comes back we will sleep in the same room again, but after that you're back to the guestroom" she called while stomping up the stairs and Draco could not help but sigh loudly. She was making this impossible. They needed to figure everything out before Scorpius and Cassiopia came home, but with her stubbornness they would not be able to do that. They only had so little time left. In a fortnight the kids would all come home from school and he was sure that his son would notice that something was wrong. The boy always knew.

* * *

"So nothing was really resolved?" Ginny asked when Angela had filled her in on the meeting she had with Astoria.

"No, not really" Angela shrugged. She wasn't sure anymore if anything ever would be resolved.

"Then why did she even want to meet up with you?" Ginny wondered aloud.

"I think she just wanted to see me." Angela figured.

"Why? Stake out the competition" Ginny said cynically.

"Perhaps to see if there was any competition to begin with." Angela said, looking at her hands.

"Too bad for her, Draco always had good taste" Ginny said with a wink and Angela laughed. Ginny had been doing a great job at making her feel better. Even though the woman didn't exactly steer clear of the tougher questions. She was quite honest and straight to the point. Angela knew she needed more of that in her life. For years she had kept people at arms length, this had enabled her to live a fairy tale world. Nobody ever confronted her with the truth.

All those years Angela had loved the man that got her pregnant at an early age. All those years she held on to the idea of him. And she prayed that one day he would come back to her. Preferably with a nice story as to why he hadn't come back before. He would then look upon his daughter and know. And he would be absolutely ecstatic.

Angela knew her mind played tricks on her. She had always known that. She knew he wouldn't come back and she knew that he wouldn't want too. Otherwise he would've never left her in the first place.

Still with nobody challenging her fairy tale ideas, she was able to keep living in the past where everything looked brighter. And by doing that she had robed her daughter of the possibility of having a father-figure in her life. Angela had not opened up to love after Draco left. It was not about getting any offers, it was about being open to them. And she hadn't been.

Perhaps she needed this to happen: to meet his wife, to learn he now had a family. Just to be able to move on, finally. And perhaps fate brought her Hermione and Ginny, to help her deal with it.

* * *

The remaining weeks until Christmas flew by and Angela heard nothing from Draco or Astoria. She knew, she would not be able to tell her daughter who her father was once and for all.

She would have to keep lying, avoiding her questions. For as long as Draco did nothing to claim her.

Though she wanted her daughter to know who her father was, she wanted her to know her father wanted her. She didn't want her daughter to find out at last who he was, only to believe he didn't want to be a part of her life. And Angela knew that it would be wrong of her to think that. Draco did want to be in her life. His wife just wasn't ready to accept the existence of Cassie yet.

The moment she would, Angela was sure that Draco would open his arms to accept the daughter that so longed for a father.

And so Angela practised her lines, her facial expressions with her new friends and in front of the mirror a few times, before she got into a car to the station. She was picking up her daughter today. And though she was extremely happy to see her beautiful face again, she wasn't sure of she wanted to know how this holiday would unfold. She had a bad feeling about it. She never liked keeping information from her daughter.


	18. Chapter 17

**Tomorrow is another day**

* * *

_Chapter 17_

* * *

A few minutes after the departure of the train Rose joined her friends in the compartment. She walked in, talking animated with Louise. Apparently they were rehashing moments from their last holiday.

"And remember when Victoire walked in late with heated cheeks." Rose laughed.

"I guess she had met up with Teddy" Louis laughed along with her.

"They weren't together last summer?" Cassy asked and Rose shook her head.

"No. Well maybe they were but nobody knew about it. They were being weird all summer." Rose explained and Cassy smiled. They spoke so fondly of Teddy, Cassy knew everybody in that family would be delighted to have him dating Victiore.

"Hi guys" James said walking in and immediately sitting down in the nearest seat.

"Hi, where have you been?" Rose asked.

"I was three compartments over. The guys are in there. Care to join us Louis? Leave the girls with their gossip" James rattled on.

"Aren't we good enough?" Rose asked a little peeved.

"And we don't gossip that much, James" Abigail said with a smile.

"Well, then we will be back in a little while. Think of cool stories to tell us" James replied, pulling Louis from his seat and walking back out.

"Well I guess, it's just us girls" Cassy said and smiled. She didn't really mind. Even though the boys were good enough company.

The next hour Abigail spend trying to help Cassy come up with a back-up plan if their parents weren't going to fill them in completely. Scheming was not her forte. So far she had come up with next to nothing.

"but maybe you could...No wait that won't work" Abigail began for what must have been the fortieth time. Cassy just laughed at it, while Rose sighed loudly.

"Let's talk about something else. If she needs our help she could always call on us" Rose said finally and Cassy nodded.

"Yes, thank you for trying to help Abby." Cassy said, feeling bad for Rose.

"OK, so did you see Shane today?" Abigail asked and Rose just slumped down in her seat and Cassy laughed.

"We haven't Abs. Why was he looking mighty fine again?" Cassy asked and Abigail just nodded and drifted into a daydream of sorts.

"Great, why does something else always have to mean boys in her dictionary?" Rose complained and Cassy just shrugged.

* * *

Parking her car at the entrance of the train station suddenly seemed a difficult task for Angela. Her legs were wobbly and her fingers were shaking. She had not realised that she would be this nervous and excited to see her daughter again. Then again they had never been apart this long.

She took a few deep breaths before getting out of the car and finding a trolley. After that she calmly strolled towards platforms 9 & 10. That was where she would be meeting with Hermione and Ginny.

She wasn't comfortable going unto platform 9¾ yet, so the girls offered to go together.

But naturally Angela was early and she would have to wait for the girls.

"Can I help you miss?" a conductor asked and she smiled kindly.

"No thank you. I am just waiting for someone" she replied and the man walked on. Probably confused why she was waiting with an empty trolley on a platform where the train just left and the next one would not be for another twenty minutes.

She sighed and leaned against one of the pillars, making sure it wasn't the portal so she wouldn't fall in.

"Oh" she suddenly heard from nearby and she watched as Astoria pulled Draco passed her.

"wait" she called out after them, but Astoria ignored her and Draco just looked back apologetic. Great, she thought to herself and sighed again.

"Is it that bad? Are we late or something?" Hermione asked and Angela smiled.

"no, being ignored when you're having too many questions is that bad." Angela muttered and Hermione just frowned, while her husband looked lost.

"You wanted to ask us something?" he asked and Angela chuckled, while Ginny smacked his arm.

"Don't be stupid Ron, she ran into Draco and Astoria" Ginny said.

"Oh sorry" he said, while rubbing his arm, " Have you been working out Gin?" he added, earning himself a laugh from everyone in their company.

"Let's just go in" Hermione said, shaking her head at her husband's comments. Sometimes he could be so daft, but it did break the tension that would've surely taken over conversation if they'd let it.

And right now they didn't need any added tension and stress. Angela was already on edge.

* * *

When they entered the platform, Astoria pulled Draco further away from Angela. And while Angela knew this was not truly a personal attack, it hurt her. She knew Astoria just needed time to let the situation sink in, but so did Angela. She needed time.

And so she did the first thing that came to mind. She walked over to them.

"Don't Astoria." she said as the other woman started walking off again.

"Why not?" Astoria countered, knowing fully well that she was being childish. Running away from a problem never helped. She just didn't want to face any of it.

"Because we've got to figure something out and you've been ignoring me for weeks now. I know this is hard for you. But it's not exactly a piece of cake for me either. And probably not for Draco either. It's a difficult situation and we need to work together. So think about that." Angela said, feeling anger rise in her chest. She took a deep breath and turned away from the couple. Slowly she walked back to her friends, taking deep breaths along the way.

She never really stood up to anyone. Though she was not weak or by any means let people walk all over her, she wasn't the person to voice her opinion so strongly.

She was the kind of person to sit quietly and nod while hearing someone out. Afterwards she would give her opinion. Calmly and well thought out, so she would not hurt anyone in the process. She never took much initiative, she waited on others to do so.

She was very different woman then the girl that made her move on Draco all those years ago.

Draco looked at Angela's retreating back and could not help but smile. He just caught a glimpse of the woman he had been in love with all those years ago. She wasn't gone after all.

Astoria saw the smile and sighed. This was going to be harder, if Angela was going to fight back.

The night before she had decided to keep evading any conversation about Cassiopeia in the hopes of making them wait too long. She didn't want the girl in her life, because it would make her already struggling marriage even worse. This girl would remind him of someone Draco obviously loved at some point. She would remind him and he might want to go back to that time, to that woman.

"Well, nice to see there is some spice in you" Ginny said smiling and Angela just laughed as the tension slowly left her body.

"I haven't done that in a very long time" Angela said. Ginny wanted to reply but they heard the train nearing and all was instantly forgotten. Their children were coming home.

* * *

Angela smiled as she searched the windows for her daughter. Her heart lifted when she met the smiling face of Cassy. She ran towards the nearest door and before she reached it, her daughter jumped out and ran for her mothers arms.

Cassy hadn't realised just how much she had missed her mother, until the train was entering the station. Her heart had started beating faster and she could not keep a smile off her face.

"I missed you my beautiful girl" Angela said keeping her daughter close to her.

"I missed you too mom!" Cassy replied and raised her head to meet the eyes of her mother.

"I'm glad you're back" Angela said again.

"Me too" Cassy replied, "I had a blast mom, but it was weird not seeing you" she added and Angela laughed.

"Well, you're home now and you're not getting rid of my presence for the next weeks." Angela said and Cassy smiled again. She really was happy to be home with her mother again.

After saying their goodbye's, Angela and Cassy made their way to their car. They had almost made it their when Cassy waved and happily called bye to someone. Angela smiled and looked up from the trunk of her car to see who it had been.

From a distance she saw a young boy wave back. His hair lighter then light. And a slender build.

His hair was the exact colour as Draco's had been when she met him. Over the years it had gotten just a little bit darker.

"Who was that?" Angela asked curious. She had a feeling that she just saw his son, but she wanted to be sure.

"Scorpius. I told you about him didn't I?" Cassy replied with a smile on her face.

"Yes I believe you did." Angela replied and felt her heart skip a beat. Her daughter had befriended her brother and she didn't even know it.

This made her lies feel even worse. She needed to tell her daughter soon. And she needed Draco to tell his son. But she didn't think that Astoria and Draco saw the exchange and therefore they would not feel the rush that she now felt even more.

"I'm glad you made so many friends." Angela said to break the silence.

"Yes, it's not so hard when they don't think you're a freak." Cassy replied light-heartedly, as if all those years of bullying no longer mattered to her. But Angela felt her heart ache with the memories of the tears Cassy shed. It was hard to hear your daughter be called a freak, because she was different. The fact that Angela knew there was something different and yet could not do anything to explain this to her daughter had made it worse. What she wouldn't have given to have been able to give her daughter some explanation, to tell her why she was a little different. And Draco took that from her even if he never meant to. And suddenly she felt angry for all the things Draco did or didn't do. He left her behind and he never looked back. He missed out on his daughter. And when they returned to his life, he wasn't man enough to truly let them into his life. He let his wife make the rules. And while she understood that Astoria was in a difficult position as well, Angela knew she deserved better then she had been given in this situation.

Cassy deserved better. Much better.


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N:** A day later then I had hoped, but here is the newest chapter. I hope to have the next chapter by next week. I'm really excited about that one, since the idea for the next chapter is what sparked this whole story.

Anyway I do hope to get some feedback! I haven't had any on the past few chapters and though I don't want to beg, I will. I like feedback. Or even a simple 'I like it' or 'I don't like it'. Anyway, Enjoy!

* * *

**Tomorrow is another day**

* * *

_Chapter 18_

* * *

Cassy sighed as she looked out her window. She had been so happy to get back home, she had been looking forward to spending some time with her mother. She had missed their film nights, their shop weekends and all the other things she used to do with her mother. Unfortunately nothing of the sorts had happened since she came home four days ago. And by nothing, she truly meant nothing.

Her mother had been too busy apparently. And when she was with Cassy, she seemed distracted. When others addressed her mother, she got angry. And her daughter she treated with far to much care. As though she could break at any given moment. When Cassy knocked over a vase she knew her mother liked, she didn't get angry. She smiled and shrugged it off. A vase didn't matter to her. It never had. That's when Cassy knew something was wrong. That vase was the only thing her mother had that originated from her childhood. It had to be important. Right?

After all, she had so little left of her past and her family.

"Mrs. Weasley?" Cassy whispered as Hermione made her way to the toilet in the back of the house.

"Yes?" Hermione wondered, a little too loud according to Cassy who quickly hushed her.

"What's wrong Cassy?" Hermione asked softer now and took a step to the right so she would be closer to Cassy and out the eyesight of Angela, who was sitting at her kitchen table.

"I need your help" Cassy said and Hermione's eyebrows raised, " My mom is acting really weird. Oh and could you try and fix this vase?" Cassy added and held out a box filled with the pieces that once formed a nice vase.

"That's a vase?" Hermione joked and fixed it for the girl before her, "Now what's this about?" she added and Cassy pulled her into her bedroom.

"Have you been talking to my mom lately?" Cassy wondered and Hermione didn't know exactly what the girl before her wanted to hear.

"I was just now" She said simply, jokingly. Cassy needed to be more to the point on what she wanted Hermione to tell her.

"Well, then you must have noticed her extremely weird behaviour. She's way to nice to me and way to angry at everyone else. My mom rarely gets angry or weird, now she is both." Cassy said.

"Why don't I talk to her?" Hermione offered and by the smile on Cassy's face she knew that was what the girl wanted to hear.

"Thank you, Mrs..." Casst started but was cut off by Hermione.

"Call me Hermione." Hermione said and smiled, "Rose is coming over in a few minutes by the way. Thought you'd like that" she added before continuing her way to the lavatory.

"I would, I do. Thank you!" Casst smiled brightly and Hermione could not help but smile. Rose had been right when she described Cassy as a girl that always wanted everyone around her to be happy. She was eager to please.

* * *

"She knows something is wrong." Hermione said simply as she rejoined Ginny and Angela in the kitchen.

"Who, Cassy?" Angela asked.

"No, the housekeeper" Ginny countered and they cracked a smile.

"How do you know?" Angela wondered.

"She told me. She doesn't know how to talk to you about that. Since she knows something is really wrong when you are being overly nice to her and snappy to others." Hermione explained.

"Have I been snappy?" Angela asked surprised. She hadn't noticed.

"Not enough if you ask me." Ginny said and Hermione sighed. Ginny was never one to keep her opinion to herself. "But you haven't exactly been making new friends either" Ginny added.

"You need to write him, call him, anything" Hermione said and Ginny laughed, "What?" Hermione asked.

"Call him? Do you really think that they own such a muggle device as a phone?" Ginny questioned and Hermione sighed, she momentarily forgot about that. Her friendship with Angela had pulled her back into the muggleworld again and she sometimes forgot about the differences between the two.

"Anyway, something needs to happen. You can't keep this from her much longer. This is far to big a deal." Hermione said and Angela could only agree with her words, she needed to break the cycle she had been tricked into by Draco and Astoria. She had been waiting around for them to take action, and action had been lacking to say the least.

Angela decided then to write Draco later that night. She would inform him that she was planning to talk to their daughter in two days. If he wanted any influence, he would have to contact her before that. Hermione and Ginny agreed with her. It seemed good to give him another opportunity, but he would have to understand that time was running out. She just hoped that any further mood swings would go unnoticed by her daughter.

* * *

"Mom, is everything OK?" Cassy asked that night over diner and Angela just smiled and nodded.

"I asked Hermione to fix the vase, I know you liked it" Cassy added.

"Thank you darling, I know you didn't break it on purpose though. It happens." Angela told her with a smile and Cassy returned it.

"I really didn't mean too, but I would've understood if you got angry." Cassy then told her mother.

"You want me to be angry with you?" Angela asked with a chuckle. Somehow this had been extremely strange to her daughter.

"No, but..." Cassy said and looked at her hands.

"Don't worry about it Cassy. All is good" Angela said again.

"Good, great." Cassy replied and kept looking at her hands.

"Was there something else?" Angela inquired.

"Well, yes, no,yes, never mind" it turned out to be rather difficult to bring up the subject of her father in a casual way. She had intended for it to be casual and simple. A 'just wondering' kind of question. Yet, it didn't really seem to come to her. It all seemed strained. Probably because she was so nervous, so anxious about the question. In the past she had asked it, in a casual manner. She never really needed an answer. Now, however, she really wanted her mother to be honest with her.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Angela pressed.

"It's not something I want to tell. I need to ask you something and I really want an answer." Cassy explained and with a hand-gesture Angela pressed her to go on.

"Well, what is it?" Angela asked when she didn't say something, thinking she would ask why she'd been having mood swings the past few days. For which she would use the old but effective monthly problem for.

"How do you know Scorpius's parents?" she asked and Angela was perplexed. How did Cassy figure that out?

"What makes you think we know one another?" Angela tried to make up a good excuse, but she was coming up with nothing. She didn't want to lie to her daughter, but she wanted Draco to have say in the situation.

"Scorpius saw your encounter on the platform when we left on September first." Cassy explained.

"I, I've met his father years ago. Of course I didn't know he was magical then." Angela explained. She didn't lie, but it was hard to keep the whole truth from her daughter. Before, she didn't tell her daughter much because she thought there would be no chance of her ever meeting her father, but now she was purposely lying and it didn't feel good at all.

"Do you think he knows where my father is?" Cassy asked and the eagerness was so apparent in her face that Angela felt her heart break a little bit. She had always hoped to be both the mother and the father to her daughter. She had always thought that she had been enough, but she now knew her daughter wanted to know where she came from. And she had every right too.

"I hope so" Angela said and sighed. This again was not a complete lie, Draco had not been the same man she had met all those years ago. She hoped he would come to his senses and step up.

"Can you tell me more about my father?" Cassy asked and Angela sighed.

"Not right now, but soon. I promise" Angela said and Cassy sighed as she got up from her seat.

"I'm going to my room" she said and walked away with a sad face. Angela didn't remember the last time she had felt so bad.

* * *

That night both mother and daughter wrote a letter, unbeknownst to each other, and to the same address.

_They saw us talking and Cassy is asking questions. _

_I plan on telling her in two days. So if you want any input, you should contact me before that. _

_- Angela_

* * *

_Had any luck with your parents? I just know that she met your dad a while ago. _

_I really wish that she would talk to me. _

_- Cassy._

* * *

Cassy got her response that same night, while Angela didn't hear from Draco that night or the next day. She just hoped he would answer her in time.

_Mom and dad are fighting, though they pretend not to. _

_I haven't asked them anything. _

_There is a party tomorrow though, why don't you and your mother come. _

_I'm inviting Tom and Abigail as well. They won't be able to avoid a question then._

_Black tie, is the dress-code. _

_- Scorpius_

* * *

Cassy was worried about this. She didn't like forcing her mother into a possibly uncomfortable situation. But she really wanted to know what his parents knew about her father.

"Mom, I got an invite to a party tonight." Cassy said the next morning to her mother.

"Really, that's nice." Angela answered a little absent.

"for the both of us" Cassy added, trying to get her mothers full attention.

"How nice. Who invited us?" Angela wondered. After all, she didn't know anyone outside of the Potters and the Weasley's.

"Scorpius" Cassy said. She didn't want to lie to her mother about that. Though Scorpius and her had decided to confront them, she wanted her mother to be aware of it. She didn't want to just spring her questions on her mother during a party.

"Oh, that's great. I'm not sure I'll be able to make that though. It's quite busy at work" Angela quickly told her daughter, suddenly aware that her daughter was cornering her.

"Would you try?" Cassy asked her, almost pleadingly.

"I will" Angela promised and she knew she would have to have a good excuse not to make it. Busy at work did not suffice. She would either have to come up with something better, or go to that party. She did not want to disappoint her daughter.

* * *

When Angela arrived at work later that morning, she quickly picked up the phone to contact Hermione. She really didn't know how to act on this. She needed some advice. And she needed to contact Draco as well.

After explaining the situation to Hermione, she sighed and felt tears forming in her eyes. She really wanted this whole situation to be resolved quickly.

"Why don't I write a note to Draco in your name. Tell him that you can't just say no to Cassy. That way he'll be aware of you and Cassy coming. Perhaps he can even contact you to talk game plan." Hermione offered and Angela smiled. She was really glad to have met Hermione. She proved to be a great friend in time of need. She only hoped that she would be able to return the favour someday. Happily she hung up and went to her work, thinking everything would work itself out.

Little did they know that Astoria had put up a magical wall around the house to keep out any owls. She had them directed to their shed. There she looked at the mail before passing it on. And mail by Angela, she just threw in the trash. If she hadn't done that, she would have had fair warning about the events that would take place that night. But she dug her own grave and there was nothing anyone could do to help her now.


	20. Chapter 19

**Tomorrow is another day**

* * *

_Chapter 19_

* * *

**Authers note: Since it took me a little longer then I promised it would to get this chapter out, I didn't take the time to read it through first. If there are any mistakes, please tell me so I can fix them. Other then that; Enjoy this chapter! It's a big one for this story! Let me know what you think of it! **

* * *

"I'm about to go home" Angela said to Hermione over the phone.

"yes?" Hermione said wondering why that was something she needed to be informed of, while she set the table for that nights diner.

"He hasn't responded to my letter" Angela pressed.

"Oh, so what are you going to do?" Hermione wondered, now understanding that going home meant that Angela had to make a decision that could quite possibly change everything for her.

"I don't know. I don't want to let her down." Angela said with a sigh. She really didn't want to go to the party. She didn't feel like partying and she definitely didn't feel like partying with Draco and his wife. Still, she could not let her daughter go on her own. And she did not want to let her daughter down. Cassy seemed so excited for this party.

"Then don't. Go, see what happens. I doubt it could get much worse" Hermione said and Angela could not help but agree. Things were going from bad to worse anyway. Cassy was asking questions and Astoria was stalling them all in answering those questions. Then again, Angela knew Cassy was not prepared for the answers. She just thought Draco knew her father. She thought she was going to hear a story about a man who loved his family, but died tragically or something like that. She wasn't going to expect the story of a man leaving her mother because he had already promised to marry someone else. She wasn't expecting the close link she had to her new friend Scorpius. And Angela was sure if Cassy was old enough to deal with all these things.

"I guess that's true." Angela answered Hermione and sighed as she disconnected the call.

After she hung up, Hermione knew that she would have to speak to Angela soon. For the past few months Angela had called her up for just about anything and everything. Hermione was happy to help, but she knew that Angela had to step up and take back control over her life. She needed to be in charge once more, because this was her family at stake. And Hermione could not keep telling her how to run their lives, no matter how much she was willing to keep doing that. It just wouldn't suffice in the end. Hermione had been happy to help Angela after the initial shock. She always wanted to help people. But Ginny had been telling her from the start that it would not do in the end. Angela needed someone to fall back on, but eventually she would have to stand on her own two feet. Hermione had agreed with Ginny, but she was finding it difficult to actually walk away and let Angela do it on her own. She didn't want Angela to think that she didn't want to help her.

Still Hermione could not ignore the fact that she was no longer helping, she was standing in the way.

* * *

"You look wonderful" Angela said as her daughter walked down in a dress she borrowed from Abigail. Abigail was walking right behind Cassy with a huge smile on her face. Apparently, Abigail felt that this compliment was directed entirely to the dress. Angela just smiled. Abigail reminded her of the friend she had growing up. She just hoped that Abigail would prove to be more loyal.

"You two mom!" Cassy replied as she looked at the clothes her mother had picked out. Classy and sophisticated. Or that's what she heard Ginny say when she came over anyway. Since the party was so last minute, both the Clarke women asked for help from their friends. And their friends were happy to help, something that Cassy really liked. In the past Cassy didn't really have that many friends. And now in just a few months time, Cassy had friends. Real friends. People she could call on in times like these. Cassy could not help but smile at the knowledge of this as she looked back at Abigail's smiling face.

Angela stepped into the fireplace with an awkward smile and Ginny laughed. Harry had arranged for their fireplace to be permanently added to the flooing network. This would make it much easier to travel back and forth from their magical friends. Angela, however, was very knew to this way of travelling and she wasn't sure if she liked it very much. Ginny had assured her, though, that while there were other magical transportation possibilities, this was by far the easiest. Angela had decided to take Ginny's word on that.

And with that they threw in the special powder en called out their destination. Malfoy Manor.

* * *

They stepped out on the other side of the fireplace and looked around at the large room they were in. The high ceilings were adorned with figures and it looked like one of those houses they use in movies to show where the rich lived back in 1800. The only difference was that while those houses often used darker tones, this room was painted white. It was beautiful.

"My mom changed the colours once we moved in" Scorpius said as he walked over to them, " It used to be in different shades of grey. Mom said it was quite depressing" he added and smiled as he extended his hand to Angela and introduced himself. Angela smiled and shook his hand. He was obviously used to social gatherings like this and knew how to play the host. She was impressed, after all he was just an eleven year old boy. And he looked so much like his father, she was surprised by it. To mask her reaction to him, she looked back up at the ceiling and complimented it.

"I don't see my parents at the moment, but I'll introduce them to you as soon as I find them!" Scorpius said after a few minutes and ran off to look for them. Angela just stood back as she awaited what would happen next. Perhaps Scorpius told them exactly who was coming and there was nothing to worry about. She just hoped that was the case as she remained in her place to the side of the room that Scorpius had just run into.

"Dad, there you are. I was looking for you" Scorpius smiled as he reached Draco.

"Were you now?" Draco asked him and excused himself from the conversation a few of the men were having. He had not really been listening any way. It had all been more of the usual chitchat. About keeping the family name strong. Surely you'd think people had better things to do, or at least better subjects to talk about. Especially since names didn't mean too much any more, unless it was Potter or Weasley.

"Now, why were you looking for me?" Draco asked his son and Scorpius looked around for his mother.

"I wanted to introduce you to a friend of mine and her mother." Scorpius said happily. He knew he would have to keep smiling, or his father would know something was up. He wasn't mischievous enough to fool his father. "Where is mom?" he added and Draco joined him in looking around.

That's when he saw her, Angela. Standing on the edge of the room with Cassiopeia. His heart stopped and he looked at his son, who was looking rather chipper and seemed unaware of his fathers discomfort.

"I'll go look for your mother, why don't you go get the guests a drink" Draco said and hoped he would find his wife quickly. He needed to prepare her for this. He couldn't understand why Angela would put them all on the stand like this. Surely she must have known that this was not the place nor time to by and tell their kids about their relation to one another.

"Oh come on dad, we can offer them a drink after you greet them. It's only proper behaviour to greet new guests, don't you think" Scorpius said quoting his mother on proper behaviour. Draco smiled at him and let his son drag him towards the edge of the room. Somehow he felt that he was about to fall into the grave he dug for himself over the past few months.

Unfortunately for Draco, they ran into Astoria, right before they reached Angela and Cassiopeia. Scorpius took her hand and pulled her along. Draco tried to get her attention to him without Scorpius noticing, but this proved to be impossible. Astoria was doing her best to avoid eye-contact.

Draco just sighed and hoped this would not all go as wrong as he thought it would, there was nothing else he could to do avoid this moment.

* * *

"Mom, dad, I want you to meet Cassy and her mother Angela" Scorpius said with a smile and Cassy smiled right along with him, while Angela looked uncomfortable. Astoria looked alarmed at the woman before her and Draco could see anger rise inside of her. He grabbed Astoria's hand and squeezed it, trying to bring her back tot he reality of where they were at that moment. It did not help, Astoria pulled her hand back and stepped right in front of Angela.

"I thought I told you to stay away from us" Astoria hissed and the kids looked up at their parents with shock.

"I wrote you a letter to tell you we were coming." Angela tried and Cassy grabbed her mothers hand, trying to show support, but also get her attention. She didn't know what this was about, but she didn't want there to be a fight. Especially not in public like this.

"I told you to stay away" Astoria said again, louder now.

"Who gave you the right to tell her that?" Draco asked and Astoria looked back at him in shock.

"This ring gave me that right" she said and held her hand in front of his face.

"No, it didn't. Now I suggest that we take this conversation to a more private place" Draco said angry. Astoria might not have been happy with the situation, but it was there and she did not have the right to try and deny it. Angela was in their lives, whether they liked it or not.

"Screw this" Astoria said, while tears filled her eyes and she fled the scene. Angela felt tears coming to her eyes and walked backwards towards the room she had first entered, with the fireplace. But Cassy let go of her hand and didn't walk with her.

Cassy didn't understand what was going on, but both mothers seemed incredibly upset. Draco shot Angela a apologetic look before walking after his wife, he didn't know what to say or do to make this any better.

Cassy and Scorpius stood still beside each other, not knowing what to do or say. They didn't understand any of it. Scorpius was the first to move. He looked at Cassy and she could see the pain and confusion in his eyes. She tried to grab for his hand, but he shook his head and walked away, in the direction his parents had run too. Cassy followed him, she really didn't want to find her mother and leave, not yet. She needed to find out more. She knew that following Scorpius was the only possibility of that happening.

* * *

She followed him into the garden where he stood rooted behind a tree, listening in on his parents fighting. He told her they had been doing that a lot and she knew this was probably very hard for him. Again she grabbed for his hand, this time he let her hold it. He even squeezed back, though he did not look at her. Growing up, he had never seen his parents fight. This week however, they fought enough to last him a lifetime.

They could hear Draco and Astoria yelling at one another.

"Why did you tell her to stay away?" Draco asked angrily. He had really hoped that they would have been able to resolve this situation together, but she was proving to be very difficult to work with.

"I didn't want her in our lives" Astoria exclaimed, as if that was enough explanation. She knew it wasn't, but she just wanted him to understand her point of view.

"I know that, but she is in our lives" Draco sighed loudly.

"No, she is in yours" Astoria shot back at him and he looked at her face with anger evident. Her words were painful. It almost made it sound like their marriage was truly over. Almost like she was giving up on them.

"Don't be stupid. We're in this together, aren't we?" Draco yelled at her. He didn't want to let his marriage go. Surely things weren't going too well and Angela resurfacing didn't make it any better, but for the first 11 years of their marriage they had been more then happy. He could not have been alone in that. And he didn't want to throw it all away without a fight. Even though it seemed that she did.

"I can't do this here." Astoria said a lot softer now and Scorpius and Cassy walked a little closer to still be able to hear it all.

"We can't avoid it much longer, in case you didn't notice that" Draco said to her. She had been avoiding it all for months, as had he, but life was catching up with them now.

"Then go tell that girl that you are her father, I don't care." Astoria called out, not knowing they had an audience.

"yes you do" Draco countered and tried to walk closer to her. She did care and that was important to him.

"I don't want to fight any more, I don't want to feel so tired and alone. And I want you to explain the situation to your son!" Astoria replied and let her shoulders hang low. She was done with this conversation.

"And I wanted us to do this together, but I see we can't all get what we want" Draco exclaimed and stalked off. She was really being impossible. They were in a tough situation, he knew that. But that didn't mean they could just keep going around as if it wasn't happening.

"don't you dare and go to her" Astoria warned him.

"Why not, you don't care right?" Draco countered.

"If you go to Angela, I will file for a divorce" Astoria said and Draco stood still. He cared for Angela, but he cared for a woman he hadn't seen in almost 12 years. There was no way he could risk his marriage over that.

* * *

A few metres from Astoria and Draco stood Scorpius and Cassy, rooted to the spot. Neither one said anything and neither one moved for at least two minutes, while the adults stalked into different directions. They didn't see the two kids and they didn't think to go look for them. They didn't know what to say to them anyway.

Scorpius suddenly dropped Cassy's hand as if he had been burned by it. He looked at her with so much emotions visible on his face that Cassy wasn't sure what to read into it precisely. Tears were falling down her face and hoped for a comforting arm, but it never came. He just looked at her, as if she was to blame for the situation at hand. She looked down at her hands, fumbling with her fingers a bit, before turning around and walking back into the house.

She walked straight past all the other guests, who were to adsorbed in their own conversations to notice the crying young girl. Only Tom saw her go, but he didn't want to go over. He wasn't sure if she would be wanting to speak to him. And he wasn't sure if Scorpius would want him to talk to her any more. He had seen them walk off together after all, so they probably had a fight.

Cassy found her mother in front of the fireplace and she stepped into it, knowing her mother would follow. Back home she stepped out and walked straight to her room, not saying a word to her mother.

"Cassy, would you please say something" Angela asked following her daughter up the stairs. She didn't know what exactly happened to make her daughter cry. It wasn't the confusion of the conversation that Angela had been a part off. Cassy would've been asking many questions is that had been the case.

"You should have told me who my father was." Cassy said softly as she closed her bedroom door in her mothers face. She had never felt more alone. Her mother had never told her about her father because he was nowhere to be found. Cassy understood that. But the fact that her mother kept her mouth shut once she found her father again, that she could not understand. She did not want to understand.


	21. Chapter 20

**Tomorrow is another day**

* * *

_Chapter 20_

* * *

A/N: Another wait between chapters. I'm sorry. I do hope you enjoy this newest chapter! Unfortunately I've had little time to write, but I am going to finsih this story! I won't give up on it or forget about it!

I think this story will have somewhere between 25 and 30 chapters in the end. So there is still plenty to come your way!

Let me know what you think! Reviews please! They are great motivaters and they tell me if I need to fix something about this story!

* * *

"He won't respond to any of the letters I send him" a sad Cassy said to Rose as Rose sat down next to her.

"Perhaps he just needs some time" Rose tried to comfort her. She didn't really know how to help.

"Perhaps he just doesn't want to know me any more" Cassy countered sadly.

"And perhaps you should just give him time to deal. It must have been quite to shocker for him too" Rose tried again even though she wasn't so sure herself. She had been shocked to hear what had happened. Her mother had instructed her to be supportive and encouraging though, so she tried her best to stay positive. She really could've used the help of Louis. He had always been so much better at this. She would even be happy with James' input. He would defuse the situation. Rose sighed and shrugged off her worries about not doing a good job. Cassy wanted her there, only her. Rose had to promise not to tell anyone else. Cassy said they'd explain it to Abby and the boys at a later time. After she processed it herself. That was a fair request, Rose knew. She just wished that her smarts translated into better social skills during times like these.

"What did your mother say about this whole situation?" Rose asked and Cassy just shrugged.

"What does that mean?" Rose asked again and Cassy shifted her position on the bed to look Rose in the eyes.

"I haven't given her much chances to say anything." Cassy explained. She felt guilty for it, yet she did not feel that her mother deserved a chance right now. Cassy felt like the one person she had always been able to count on, had betrayed her. She didn't know how to handle that. A tear slid down Cassy's cheek and Rose wrapped her arm around her friend. She didn't know what she would do if her mother ever kept such a big thing from her. She just knew it would be incredibly hard to deal with.

* * *

"You need to talk to her" Ginny said as she poured Angela some tea.

"I've tried. She won't let me in her room" Angela said and Ginny sighs.

"Oh please, you're her mother. Take charge." Ginny said, looking Angela straight in the eyes.

"Ginny please" Hermione tried. She knew that Angela needed to take charge, she just wasn't sure if Ginny's attitude to the situation would make her do that.

"No Hermione. We've been keeping quiet for too long. Angela you need to take charge of your life again. You've been letting others lead you for months now." Ginny continued. She knew she was a bit harsh, but she preferred to call it tough loving.

"I'm sorry" Angela said looking at the teacup in her hands. Ginny was right and she was ashamed to even look her in the eyes.

"Don't be sorry. We wanted to help you, but now you need to step it up. This is your life. This is Cassy's life. We can't run it for you. You need to go in there and talk to her. Try and explain as much as you can about the situation. She deserves to know and your relationship with her deserves to be saved." Ginny said, Angela needed to be told this, and there was nobody else doing it.

"I just don't know what to tell her about Draco" Angela said sadly. Angela had lost sight of things so badly, she just didn't know where to start with changing it.

"You tell her what you can. All you know. Why you couldn't tell him you were pregnant. How you ran into him. And what happened while she was in school. Perhaps not tell her anything too negative, but don't sell yourself short either. You tried and she needs to know you did. She needs to know that it's not you keeping her away from her father." Ginny offered. Just because Angela needed a wake up call, didn't mean she would stop helping her friend. That was not in Ginny's nature.

"And perhaps after that conversation with Cassy, you can confront Draco. You two need to figure this out quickly. She needs to know her father." Hermione added and Angela nodded. She just wasn't sure how she would go about it. Whenever she thought of Draco and Astoria, anger filled her up. She didn't want to speak to him in a fit of anger.

"I'm just afraid that I'll regret my words." Angela explained.

"So? Not talking to him would be a much greater regret. Besides he deserves some anger from you." Ginny stated and sipped her own cup of tea. Angela sighed and stood up from her seat at the kitchen-table. It was time to talk to her daughter and salvage all she could. Both Hermione and Ginny gave her encouraging smiles as she walked over the room of Cassy and opened the door.

Rose got up as Angela walked in.

"I'll be with my mom" Rose said to Cassy and walked out of the room. While Cassy's eyes were pleading her to stay, she knew she could not be involved in this.

* * *

Inside of the Malfoy manor it had been icy these past few days. Scorpius had packed a bag and gone to stay with the Zabini's. Something Draco could not blame him for. He also knew that his old friend would understand and not spread his dirty laundry. Blaise had been loyal to him through a whole lot more. He was happy that Scorpius found a friend in the son of his own best friend.

However, while his son was avoiding the situation from afar, his wife was doing a great job of sticking close without being there. She had taken the bedroom again and sent Draco to the guest room. She had made sure to be in her room, when he was in the house. She would only emerge when he was at work. He knew she did, because the food would still slowly disappear from the kitchen. He sighed as he came home from work that day and heard the bedroom door slam shut. He knew he needed to talk to her, but avoiding seemed so much easier. And yet avoiding the situation had let to this current state of affairs, so he knew it was the wrong thing to do.

"Astoria!" he called up but didn't expect an answer, "We need to talk about this." he added and began to walk up the stairs to the room she was hiding in. She knew she would have locked the door but it no longer mattered. He would scream loud enough for her to hear him, if he could not get in.

"Astoria, let me in." Draco called as he stood before their bedroom door. No sound came his way. He knew she was ignoring him.

"We're going to talk about this and without a door in-between is much easier." he added and he heard her sigh as footsteps came his way.

"I really don't feel like talking" Astoria said as she opened to the door to look at him.

"Well, it's not my favourite pastime either, but we need to work this out, if we want to see our son back before he has to go back to school." Draco countered and she opened the door further so he would enter the room.

"Scorpius knows, so we better figure out what we tell him. And I really want to talk to him together." Draco said and Astoria nodded. He had a point.

"I'm not sure how to tell him though" Astoria said and sighed, "I never wanted him to find out like that. And I can't believe that stupid woman ruined everything for us".

"We don't know what happened and why she didn't warn us" Draco countered. Angela was the mother of his child. He could not let her take the blame in this story. They all made wrong decisions.

"Right...whatever. Look, I don't want to fight any more." Astoria said and grabbed his hand.

"Neither do I. I just want my family back." Draco said with a small smile as he pulled his wife closer to him.

"I just don't know where Angela fits into that." Astoria said.

"She doesn't really. But Cassy does. Cassy has to fit in there. Angela is just someone we'll have to be civil to." Draco said and Astoria knew she really shouldn't fight him on this. He wanted his daughter in his life and she could not blame him for that. She just didn't trust Angela enough around Draco. That was going to be a problem.

"I never wanted to keep you from your child" Astoria said and Draco hugged her close. He knew she never meant for any of this to happen. Nobody did, but it still happened.

* * *

"Cassy, I am so sorry for all of this. I was planning on telling you but I couldn't reach Draco and I wanted him to be a part of that conversation" Angela said as she sat down next to her daughter.

"I just don't understand any of this." Cassy confessed and Angela wrapped her arm around her daughter.

"Doesn't he want to know me?" Cassy asked and Angela's heart broke. This was the last thing she ever wanted her daughter to think.

"Of course he wants to know you! The moment he found out you existed he wanted to know you." Angela said.

"Then why didn't he come see me when I came home?" Cassy asked tearfully.

"Things are complicated. And we made some wrong decisions. But that is our problem. That has nothing to do with you or our feelings towards you. I love you and I know he does too." Angela said.

"Mom, what happened between you two? I mean when you got pregnant. I thought you loved each other. But why did he go to Scorpius's mom? And why did they have him so quickly?" Cassy wondered.

"We did love each other. And I can't answer all these questions. But thins were so complicated back then for him. I think he loved both Astoria and me. I didn't know much about his life before we met, but I knew there was a woman in his past. He never kept that from me. I always knew he would have to go back to her."

"Were they already married?" Cassy wondered. Was her mother the other woman?

"No, they weren't." Angela explained.

"Then why couldn't he stay?" Cassy asked confused.

"Because my world wasn't his. The magic free world didn't fit him. Of course I didn't know there was such a thing called magic but that's besides the point. I did know he wasn't comfortable in my world." Angela explained to the best of her ability.

"Did he know about me?" Cassy wanted to know.

"No I found out I was pregnant with you after he left and I had no way of contacting him." Angela said. She was glad Cassy was listening to her. And she was happy to be able to tell her everything.

"Why did you keep me" Cassy asked in all honesty.

"Because I already loved you then." Angela replied with a smile. It was true. The moment she was told she was pregnant by her doctor, she felt an overwhelming love for the unborn child. It wasn't accepted in her family or the village she lived in, but she could no imagine living without the baby inside of her.

"When we heard them fight, Scorpius backed away from me. As if this was my fault." Cassy said after a few moments of silence.

"He was in shock. All he knew was that he parents were fighting." Angela explained. She hated that these kids had to deal with this. That they found a friendship in one another, only to have it pulled away from them so crudely.

"About me" Cassy stated.

"amongst other things. Mostly about me though. I ambushed their life." Angela said, she tried to keep her daughter from thinking that any of this was her fault.

"But you didn't mean too." Cassy said.

"No, I did not. That doesn't matter though, they still need get accustomed to me being here." Angela said.

"And me" Cassy stated again. Angela didn't want to lie to her daughter. It would be an adjustment to suddenly have another child.

"Something tells me that it won't be so hard to do that. Once they meet you, they will love you as much as I love you."Angela said instead. She knew Draco would love her, Astoria would learn to love her as well. Hopefully until then, she would be civil enough.

"When will I meet them?" Cassy asked. She wanted to know her father.

"I don't know, but I'll find out" Angela promised. She would have to speak to Draco and Astoria quickly. This had to be fixed before their children went back to school.

"Thank you" Cassy said and she hugged her mother.

"Anything for you darling" Angela said as she held her daughter close to her .

"Mom" Cassy called when her mother stood up to leave the room.

"Yes?" Angela asked.

"Don't keep things like this from me again" Cassy said and Angela offered her a smile before answering, "Never", she said. She never wanted this to become this complicated again.


	22. Chapter 21

**Tomorrow is another day**

* * *

_Chapter 21_

* * *

Scorpius sighed as he sat down on the swing that stood in the Zabini's back yard. He had received another letter by Cassy today and he still didn't know how to respond. In the back of his mind he knew that the mess his family was in right now, had nothing to do with Cassy. His parents had been fighting for over a year now. Yet he could not help feeling as if Cassy had made it all worse. Not her personally, but her existence.

And he had befriended her. HE was the one who brought her to the party his mother held. HE was the one who made everything explode in his face. This was all his fault in the end. And he was sure his parents would figure that out and they would be so angry at him.

He folded the letter again and put it in his jacket pocket. He would respond some other time.

"Scorpius, ready to play some quidditch?" Tom called out from a little distance and pointed to the sky where a few of their friends from school were already making laps on their brooms. He smiled and ran to the house to change into quidditch robes. Tom had not asked him once to talk about everything and he did not want him too. Tom's mother had come to him once to let him know that she was there to listen, but he had not taken her up on that. His mother would not want him to share their troubles with other families in their circle. The Zabini's were great friends, Scorpius knew his parents trusted them. Still he would not be the one to speak up.

So he had kept quiet and he had been staring into space a lot. But instead of letting him, Tom had been doing his very best to distract him from his worries.

* * *

"I know I should not have stormed off like that." Astoria said softly as she and Draco sat across from each other at their diner table. They had been sitting there for almost an hour, not saying anything. They knew they had to talk, but neither knew where to start. Things just had to change, they both knew that. Cassy had to fit into their lives, and they had to find a way for that to work for their marriage as well.

"You were ambushed. You simply reacted." Draco tried to comfort her.

"Our son was there, your daughter was there. I should not have simply been reacting. I should have been thinking first." Astoria said, she was angry at herself. She had made two innocent children a part of their grown up problems. She never wanted that. Sure she wasn't exactly ready to accept Cassiopeia into her well structured life, but she never wanted the child to suffer either. She wasn't that evil.

"I, I just wish we could go back in time. Back to when everything was just fine" Astoria added and Draco sighed as he got up from his seat and took a seat closer to his wife.

"I know you do. I wish everything was good again as well. That is why we have to figure it all out now. We need to talk about things. We're adults, yet we've been acting like teens who haven't learned who to communicate with each other yet." Draco said as he grabbed her hand and kissed her fingertips. The doorbell rang and they waited for the sound to die down, hoping the visitor would simply leave. They didn't want any interruptions.

But the ringing kept going, the visitor was not going away and Astoria sighed as she stood up.

"I guess we'll have to deal with this first." she said and walked towards the door, not knowing that the calm that she and Draco had accomplished would disappear as soon as she let the visitor in.

"Angela?" Astoria said shocked and stepped aside. She knew she could not deny this woman access now.

"Sorry to barge in like this, but we have to talk about some things." Angela said and waited for Astoria to lead her into a room. Astoria decided that the hallway was good enough. Draco had walked out of the dining room and joined the two women.

"Angela. It's good that you are here. We need to talk about what happened." Draco said and unlike his wife he opened the door to the living room. Angela smiled at followed him in.

"How is Cassy dealing with this?" Draco wondered.

"Not so good. She thinks you don't want her in your life" Angela responded honestly.

"Well that's not his fault now is it" Astoria snapped and Angela sighed.

"No it's not his fault. We should have had something figured out before the kids had come home. WE all should have worked harder at a solution when the kids were still in school." Angela replied and Astoria could feel her anger rise already.

"WE? You just barged into our lives and expected up to just change everything for you to fit in. It surprises me you didn't ask Draco to simply leave me for you" Astoria exclaimed.

"You're out of your mind Astoria. I never thought I would ever see Draco again. I never knew he was a wizard. And I did not expect you to change everything. But changes needed to be made. On both ends. Yet you seem to think I'm the wicked witch from the west, out to ruin your life." Angela said, anger flaring. This woman just had it in her to make her worst self come out.

"I just didn't want to make any hasty decisions. Draco and I needed to figure out how to talk to Scorpius as well. Instead you were meeting behind my back" Astoria said, saddened. It had hurt her so much to see Draco going behind her back to meet another woman.

"Well, that's not on me. That is something you need to work on with your husband. I just didn't want to lie to my daughter about her father. He was too close to keep her away from him." Angela explained as calmly as she could.

"And that I was the victim in it all, didn't bother you?" Astoria said, still bend on making Angela the bad guy in this story.

"You know what, I'm not going to feel sorry for you any more! You've been running this show from the start and really, you're input should have been very small. You didn't want to deal with this and now you can't avoid it any more. Well boo hoo. Get over yourself. This is not about you or me or Draco. This is about Cassy and Scorpius." Angela exclaimed and stood up from her seat. This was going nowhere.

"I know it's about them. I wanted to protect my son! You just showing up here the other night didn't help matters, now did it" Astoria countered, also standing. Draco cringed as he could see these two jumping each other soon.

"Please Angela, Astoria, calm down. Fighting won't help us." Draco tried but they ignored him. Suddenly he hated the fact that he had always been attracted to strong women.

"Which is why I sent you a letter the morning of the party, I can't help it that you didn't respond." Angela said. She still didn't understand why nobody had responded to it. It would have saved them from the pain their kids were now feeling.

"You sent a letter?" Draco wondered out loud, still not getting much response.

"Oh God" Astoria said, feeling stupid, "I..."

"What happened to the mail Astoria?" Draco now asked her in a demanding tone. When his wife was at a loss for words, something was wrong.

"You know what, you fight this out between the two of you. I'm going to try and salvage what is left of my relationship with my daughter. If you ever want to get to know her, Draco, I suggest you grow a backbone and do something." Angela said and walked back to the front door to leave their house.

"Angela!" Draco called out, but she had left already. He would have to come to her if he wanted to arrange a meeting with his daughter. He knew that. She had taken a step towards him, by coming here and now it was up to him.

* * *

"Where is that letter Astoria?"He asked as he let his body fall down on the couch.

"I..." she tried, but she could not find the words. She knew that he would get so angry that her marriage might just be over and she really didn't want that.

"Spit it out!" he called and she sat down on the edge of a seat, ready to bolt as soon as the words would leave her mouth.

"I had all the mail put on hold." Astoria said.

"Since when?" Draco asked.

"For months now. I skimmed it for letters from her, before giving it to you" Astoria said holding her head low.

"So you've been keeping letters from me?" Draco asked. His voice too calm for comfort.

"I..." Astoria didn't know what she could say to make this any better. She was losing control over the situation quickly and she didn't know how to get it back. She couldn't blame Draco for being angry. She had messed up, massively. She let her jealousy get in the way of her better judgement.

Draco stood up again and walked out of the room and out of the house, leaving her to swallow in self-pity. He was too angry to care. He wanted to see his daughter.

* * *

He rang the doorbell and waited for Angela to open the door. When she did, she just smiled and let him in. This was what she wanted. Him to WANT to see his daughter, and to have that want to be strong enough to defy his wife. She never wanted to break his marriage up, like Astoria feared. She just wanted her daughter to know her father. Sure she still loved Draco. She also knew that she loved the Draco he had been, not the Draco he now was. She had no idea who he was now. She just knew that her daughter should be able to get to know him. She would deal with her own feelings, when there was time for it. Until then, she would simply try to ignore them.

"Can I see her now? Or do you want to prepare her?" Draco asked and Angela chuckled.

"You really think that there is a way to prepare her for this moment? She just wants to get to know her father. And I want him to get to know her. She's too amazing for you not to know her." Angela replied and went before him to the living room.

"Wait here, I'll go get her." Angela said and knocked on the bedroom door of Cassy before walking in. Both Rose and Cassy looked up at her with wondering looks. They had heard voices, but they probably didn't know who the male voice belonged too.

"Your father is here. Wondering if you'd like to see him." Angela said with a smile and she could see the tears form in her daughters eyes. This was something the girl had wanted ever since she was old enough to understand that her father wasn't around. Rose smiled and stood up from the bed.

"Time to go home I guess. I'll come by later today." Rose said and hugged Cassy before flashing a big smile to Angela and leaving the room.

"He is really here?" Cassy asked and Angela just nodded as she pulled her daughter into a hug.

"He really is. Do you want me to be there or do you want to talk to him without anyone else around?" Angela asked her.

"Where would you go?" Cassy wondered. She wanted to be able to ask him everything and she knew some questions might be hurtful for her mother, but she didn't want to be completely alone either. She was scared that he wouldn't like her.

"I'll be in the kitchen, doing some paperwork that I've been neglecting" Angela said and her daughter smiled as she walked out of the room and into the living room. She was finally meeting her father.


	23. Chapter 22

**Tomorrow is another day**

* * *

_Chapter 22_

* * *

'I wish I could have known you all along' her father had told her smiling a the end of their first ever conversation. Cassy could still hear the words and she smiled. His voice so vivid in her mind. A sound she had only dreamed of before. He was not the man she had dreamed off as a little girl. He was not the hero her mother had made him out to be. At least that's what he said. He wasn't extraordinary, he said, but he was good man and he wanted to be a good father.

To her he was extraordinary. To her he was more than a good man. To her he was the dream she never thought would come true. She finally had a father. When she spoke of family, it would not only be her mother any more.

The conversation they had kept running through her mind, like a good dream she never wanted to wake up from. Rose just smiled as they sat down in a compartment on the train. She had kept Cassy from nearly walking straight into a wall and James had directed her feet up the steps into the train. Rose had seen the smile on Angela's face, but she had also noticed that Scorpius had come with the Zabini's, not his own parents. And he wasn't so smiley. She sighed. She felt for him, but right now there was nobody strong enough in this world that would make her point that out to her friend. Instead she indulged in meaningless chitter-chatter with her cousins and friends, while Cassy kept staring out of the window, happy.

* * *

"_I'm so sorry for how this all went down. This was never how it was supposed to be." Draco had started the conversation and he was surprised when the little girl before him wrapped her arms around his waist. _

"_I thought you wouldn't come" she said with tears falling from her eyes. It broke his heart. _

"_Why wouldn't I come?" Draco asked her, his voice strained. _

"_Because you don't want me" Cassy admitted._

"_How could anyone not want you in their lives. I never wanted you to think I didn't want you" Draco said walking towards her, but stopping, not knowing if she would want him to comfort her. Not sure how to comfort her either. _

"_Then why didn't you come? After you ran into mom" Cassy asked. _

"_Because there were more people involved and we wanted to make things as easy as possible on you and Scorpius." Draco explained. He wanted her to understand it all and he didn't want to keep anything from her. _

"_Scorpius hates me now" Cassy said, tears slipping from her eyes. _

"_He doesn't. He just needs time. He is confused and hurt that we didn't tell him." Draco sighed at the heartbreaking sight. He knew his son, Scorpius didn't hate her. He just didn't know who else to blame for the situation they were in. _

"_He won't respond to my letters." Cassy said. She truly believed that Scorpius wanted nothing to do with her anymore. _

"_Give him some time, he will come around" Draco said sincerely. _

"_And his mom?" Cassy asked. Draco smiled as he noticed a lot of the old Angela in that direct behaviour. Angela would never beat around the bush back then either. It was a shame that that had changed now, but he knew he was at least partly to blame for that. _

"_She's fine" Draco said. _

"_No she is not. I could see that at the party" Cassy said. _

"_You're a clever young woman aren't you. It was a shock for Astoria as well, she hadn't known about Angela. But she will love you the moment she will get to know you." Draco told her. _

"_Have you ever tried to get in contact with mom? After you left I mean" Cassy now wanted to know. She wasn't satisfied with the comforting words he gave her. She didn't fully believe him, but she had so many questions for him that the rest would simply have to wait a little longer. _

"_No." Draco said honestly. _

"_Didn't you love her?" Cassy wondered._

"_Yes I did. But I couldn't stay and once I left I couldn't come back." Draco said. _

"_Why did you leave?" Cassy asked him now. _

"_That wasn't my world. As you now know. I belonged in the world of magic." Draco tried to explain. He didn't know how much she knew about the war, and he didn't know how to explain his role in it. He wasn't proud of that and he wanted her to be proud of him. _

"_Why didn't take mom to this world?" Cassy asked and he knew the next words would already make her less proud that he was her father. If she was ever proud to begin with. _

"_I was already engaged to Astoria" Draco said. _

"_Really?" Cassy asked him confused. She didn't understand how he could love two women at the same time and she didbn't understand that people got engaged without love sometimes. _

"_I'm not proud of how I handled things back then. But I do want to be honest about it with you." Draco said. _

"_I don't understand" Cassy said. And he couldn't blame her for that. He didn't even understand it himself. Back then he hadn't loved Astoria. He just knew that marrying her would be a good life. No unnecessary drama and he did like her. He cared for her. But it hadn't been love, not back then. And Astoria had known that, she never cared about that. She felt that she loved him enough for the both of them and she had been right. She had learned him to love her and he loved her to the best of his ability. It was different from his love for Angela, but by no means any less. _

"_I don't know how to explain it to you. I don't completely understand it all myself. All I know is, that I loved your mother. And I loved you the moment I learned of your existence. But I love Astoria two and Scorpius. And these past few months have been hard on everyone involved. Over time I am sure we will figure everything out and we can be a family. Unconventional perhaps, but a loving family nonetheless." Draco said and Cassy smiled at him. She was sure he would explain himself better as time came. Right now she just felt in seventh heaven for knowing he loved her the moment he heard of her. That was enough for now. And so they talked about other things, trying to get to know each other. Favourite colours, pets, friends, school, teachers, family. Draco was shocked to find out that Cassy knew no family, but he tried to hide that fact for her. He would speak to Angela about that some other time. Right now he was glad to know that he was providing in the one thing she had missed out on for so long. He would be her family, her father to the best of his ability and he would make sure she was always happy. _

* * *

They exited the train and stepped into the boats, like she had done for the first time only a few months ago. Things were so different now. And she so preoccupied that she hardly noticed the boat ride. Until the rounded the corner and the castle came into view. She looked up at it and felt even better if that was possible. She felt at home here. And she was excited to learn more about the world her father spoke so fondly off.

"You look happy" Abigail said with a smile as she greeted Cassy while entering the school. She had been sitting with some kids from their house until then and now came up to greet everyone.

"She is" Rose answered, while Cassy's smile just broadened.

"What happened? The last letter you wrote that you felt miserable. I wanted to come visit as soon as I read it, but my mom wouldn't let me. We were in Spain you see. With friends of my mother." Abigail explained, feeling guilty about that.

"It's all right. Rose was there." Cassy answered now, she smiled at Abigail. She knew Abby was there in spirit. Or whatever they called it when someone was thinking of you and wanted to be there for you.

"So what changed?" Abigail pressed on. She was very curious about the sudden change in attitude in her friend.

"When I tell you, you can't tell anyone else." Cassy pressed and looked Abigail straight in the eye. It's not that she didn't trust her friend, but she had to have said it. If she wanted things with Scorpius to smooth over quickly, she couldn't have anyone announce the situation to the school before he was ready.

"Of course not" Abigail promised.

"After dinner, we'll go for a walk" Cassy said and looked at both Abigail and Rose, signalling that she wanted to go with the three of them.

"Sounds good," both rose and Abigail agreed before they all set off to their tables for the feast that was going to start soon.

* * *

Cassy was happily enjoying the feast, sitting between Abigail and Victiore, when there was a tap on her shoulder. She turned around wondering who wanted to speak to her during dinner and why that person couldn't wait another ten minutes until the feast was over.

"What did you do?" a girl asked her. The girl was at least three inches taller then Cassy. Cassy noticed she was pretty, despite the heave eye make up and mean scowl on her face.

"What did I do?" Cassy wondered, she hadn't seen this girl before in her life. She knew the girl was from Slytherin because of the colour of her robes, but that was all she knew.

"Scorpius is all upset and I heard it was because of you!" she exclaimed, alarming several students around them. Cassy looked around at the table with shame. She didn't want anyone to think any less of her. And apparently Scorpius had been less than positive about her.

"It's really none of your business." Abigail stepped in between.

"And you are?" the girl said and Abigail raised an eyebrow.

"You know who I am, Amber" she said to freshen up the memory of the girl, Cassy now knew was named Amber.

"Oh right, you were the bastard" Ambber sneered nastily.

"Wow your social skills have improved since we last spoke. You vocabulary is the same though. Might want to broaden it. " Abigail said, not fazed by the rude comment.

"Just you wait" Amber said to Cassy and stalked off, her friends in tow.

"Thanks" Cassy whispered, not sure what to do now. She was shocked. Surely she had never been popular but she had never gotten into a fight and she had never been so intimidated by someone. She was happy that Abigail was with her.

"That's what friends are for, right" Abigail said, beaming at her friend.

"Doesn't her comment bother you?" Cassy wondered.

"She was extremely rude" Victiore added.

"Not really. It's nothing new. Besides I never really cared about my father or lack of one." Abigail explained and pulled Cassy off her seat.

"Time to meet Rose, let's go" Abigail now said and held Cassy's hand as they walked through the throng of students. Abigail didn't want Cassy to take another moment to think about the incident. Amber wasn't worth it.

* * *

Scorpius watched as Cassy and Abigail met up with Rose and together they left the great hall. He felt hatred for them all fill his head. He had seen that Cassy was smiling. He didn't want to see her smiling. He wanted to see her be as miserable as him.

His father had told him that he went to see her. So Scorpius knew the reason behind her smile, it only hurt him more. It didn't help that Tom kept telling him that really he should not be mad at Cassy. 'She didn't ask for this', Tom had said. Scorpius was sure he could've strangled his friend had there been no others around them.

Instead he was surprised to see Amber stand up. And ask him what Cassy did to upset him. He had known Amber his entire life. They grew up together and she seemed to have this idea of being friends. He couldn't remember when he had ever liked her, but he knew it was foolish to point that out. Amber was ruthless when someone was in her way. He had always known it was better to play along, then to go against it.

Yet he was even more surprised when she went to Cassy. He never told anyone besides Tom about his connection to Cassy. Nobody knew that anything was going on. Why was assuming Cassy was the reason of his sour mood? He felt bad, but he was too stubborn to stand up and call Amber back. Instead he just watched, while Tom got angry that he just sat and watched.

* * *

**A/N: I haven't taken much time to reread what I wrote in this chapter and therefore there will probably be typo's and grammar mistakes. Hopefully nothing mayor and hopefully nothing worse like plot holes:P I do believe I avoided those. Let me know if I should edit anything!**

**Seriously though, I wanted post this as soon as it was done because of all the amazing reviews I've received these past few weeks! They've made me so incredibly happy! And they motivate me to no end! I haven't had much time which is why I didn't write this right after reading all the kind words. But I do truly appreciate all of them. This chapter is for you guys! You make every minute I work on this story a bliss! Now this is already much longer then I intended so, with this I say goodbye until the next chapter!**


	24. Chapter 23

**Tomorrow is another Day**

* * *

_Chapter 23_

* * *

**A/N:** _Sorry for the wait. My life has been very busy lately. It was hard to find time to write or even check what I had written before. But I made this chapter a little longer, hopefully that will ake it a little better. And I hope you can forgive me and not give up on me. I love this story too much for it to be unread or unfinished. So that last part will be done!_

_First is up to you:P_

* * *

"I know Draco is now in contact with his daughter. However, this does not mean you are included in our lives" Angela recited from the letter she had gotten earlier that morning. Nobody really needed to read the name underneath it to know where it came from.

"She really wrote that?" Ginny asked surprised and with great disgust displayed in her voice.

"I thought things would get better from here on out" Hermione added and Angela just shrugged. She couldn't help that Astoria had these insecurities. She could not fix her marriage simply by pushing Angela out of the way. And after everything that had happened, Angela did not really feel sorry for Astoria.

"I don't think I'll respond to it, but I've been wondering if I should show it to Draco" Angela said.

"Why would you show it to him?" Hermione asked.

"To let him know what his precious wife is doing" Angela explained.

"Not to play the devils advocate, but perhaps you'd also want him to see that she isn't for him?" Hermione mentioned carefully. She knew Angela did not want to hear this but they had agreed not walk on eggshells around her any more. They had promised Angela to be more honest and open to her. And to call her out on behaviour.

"I'm really not so sure" Angela begrudgingly admitted after a few moments of silence.

"Have you dated anyone since Draco?" Ginny wondered out loud, as if suddenly realising something.

"What do you mean?" Angela asked her.

"Well, have you been on more the one or two dates with someone, felt deeper feelings then friendship towards someone, since Draco?" Ginny explained her question and Angela decided this was a good time to look at her hand and wonder if a manicure was in order.

"I'll take that as a no" Ginny sighed.

"Perhaps you should date, get Draco out of your system. After all, he is no longer the boy he was then and you're not the same either" Hermione offered.

"I know and I tried, but I was convinced he was it for me and until I realise he's not, I'm not so sure I'll get over him." Angela explained.

This honesty thing was actually proving to be good. She couldn't remember talking this openly with anyone in a long time. It was good to have people to confide in, people who didn't judge but simply tried to help her. It was good to have friends. Real friends. Not the people she had met at work and would go on her lunch-break with. They were all good people, but she never really had been able to let them into her life. Somehow she never really had been able to let go of the past enough to let anyone in until Hermione and Ginny remained to persistent to shake off.

"Well, I guess this is a great moment to start trying!" Ginny said and smiled at Angela, as she tried to think of all the single men she knew. She would try and find a suitable match, even if it was for only one date. Angela needed to get out there again.

"Any cute guys at work?" Ginny asked and Angela laughed.

"I work at an engenering company as a desk clerk. Really most people don't pay much attention to me and the few people I communicate with are all women. Somehow secretary isn't a much filled position by men." she explained and Ginny shrugged.

"Start paying attention the the male occupants of the building then!" Ginny said and stood up to get her coat. When Ginny left a few minutes later to pick up the younger kids from school, Hermione looked Angela into the eyes and sighed. Angela raised an eyebrow in question and waited for Hermione to start speaking.

"There is something that just dawned on me" Hermione started.

"I figured, since you looked at me and sighed...I reckon it's not that pretty" Angela joked, trying to keep the mood light.

"Who did you hang out with before you met Ginny and me?" Hermione asked her and Angela didn't really know how to respond.

"I, well, life was different then." Angela tried to avoid answering.

"Well?" Hermione pressed on.

"I would work during school hours and then go home, hang out with Cassy" Angela explained. Still not exactly giving a straight answer.

"Nobody else?" Hermione asked now.

"I've got one friend, Deborah, but since we moved here it's been difficult staying in touch." Angela confessed.

"One friend?" Hermione asked and somehow she was unable to keep the pity from her voice.

"Not good enough?" Angela asked feeling herself getting a bit defensive.

"That's not what I mean, but you've been without family and friends for so long. It's no wonder you are a bit closed off" Hermione said. Knowing that her words would hurt, but unable to say it any kinder.

"I'm not" Angela said, full on defensive now.

"Yes you are. You've opened up to us because you had no choice. We were there when you broke down. But there is nobody else in your life. As if you keep them all at bay." Hermione explained. She had brought this up now and there was no going back. She might as well keep explaining it. Trying t get through to Angela. She needed to change her life and the way she lived it.

"I do not" Angela exclaimed, hurt by what Hermione was saying.

"Why Angela? I want to help you but you've got to be honest with yourself!" Hermione asked her.

"I am." Angela exclaimed and got up to get her coat. She was done with this conversation.

She looked back her Hermione once more, with what she hoped was a menacing face, before she closed the door behind her and left for her car. She was going home. She didn't need Hermione telling her she was closed off. She had been doing perfectly fine before Ginny and Hermione came into her life.

* * *

When Angela arrived at her house thirty minutes later, she was extremely pissed. She really didn't want to be alone, right now. She needed to vent. She just didn't know who to call. She'd call Deborah, but that would mean that she had to explain a lot first. The last few times she talked to her old friend, she didn't mention anything about seeing Draco again or anything that had happened since. And Deborah had seemed a bit distracted anyway. She paced around in her living room and looked at the clock every few minutes. She didn't know what to do with herself.

It dawned on her that she really didn't have anyone to fall back on without Hermione and Ginny. And she didn't like it. Still, she told herself that it was because of the move. They had only been living in this town for a few months. Only a few weeks before Cassy went to school and ever since, so much had happened. She simply didn't have any spare time before. And she promised herself that this would change now. She would make friends. She's take a closer look at her colleagues. They were good people and there surely would be someone there to befriend. She was sure of it.

But since she would not be able to vent now, she changed into sweatpants and a comfortable shirt. She would go running. Perhaps she could exhaust herself enough to forget about her disagreement with Hermione. Or the fact that she walked out instead of talking about it. Or the fact that she really could not deny that Hermione had somewhat of a point. She wasn't ready to call Hermione yet.

* * *

The next day at work Angela put on a smile and greeted everyone she ran into. Being more friendly and open towards people, really wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Hi Sylvia" Angela called out. Sylvia was the only one there yet. Angela was usually early, just like her. Sylvia was a woman, who's face was kind. People instantly trusted her. She was almost 60 now and a little plumb, but still beautiful. And Angela knew that if only she could age like Sylvia, she'd be a lucky girl. Sylvia was Angela's direct boss, but she didn't like hierarchy to be too visible and she wanted all the other woman, also working for Sylvia, to call her by name. And she wanted these women to discuss things with her whenever they wanted too, not simply do as they were told. She was convinced that two minds knew more then one and she was a firm believer of using said knowledge. This created a nice feel in the working-place and everyone was grateful.

"Hi Angela. How are you today" Sylvia asked as she stood up to grab a second cup of tea, "Want one?" she asked Angela and Angela just nodded as she put down her bag and started up the computer.

"Doing good, you?" Angela answered Sylvia's first question and smiled.

"You seem in a good mood." Sylvia said with a smile. She seemed genuinely happy with that.

"I am. I feel like I'm finally settling in here in this town and the company." Angela explained and Sylvia nodded.

"Well, I'm happy with that. You light up when you smile" Sylvia said and Angela smiled once more.

When lunch time arrived Sylvia looked at the schedule. Officially only one person had to stay behind and have her break at a later time, but Sylvia thought it was no fun to have your break on your own. Instead she had made a schedule that kept two to three people behind.

Yesterday would've been Sylvia's day to stay behind. Today was Maggie's day. Maggie's friend Anna stayed with her. Meaning Sylvia and Angela would be joined for lunch by Sheila and Dana.

* * *

Angela had kept up her good mood and the other women had noticed. Somehow it helped their conversations about everything and nothing. It was nice to talk about things like the weather or weird speeches by politicians in foreign countries. It was nice to speak of things that didn't revolve around Draco and Astoria and all the drama of the past few months. Angela felt like a weight was lifted of her shoulders and she could breath easier.

She also realised that later today, she really had to call Hermione and apologise. Even if she still think that she hadn't had much time to make friends. She wasn't really inviting others into her life either. Hermione had a point and she had not been ready to listen to that yesterday.

The four women were enjoying their meals when the door opened and Dana smiled.

"my my, look what just walked in" Dana said and Sylvia chuckled.

"He's young but definitely easy on the eyes." she agreed and curious Angela and Sheila turned around to get a look at the man that had walked in.

Angela felt her heart skip a beat as she noticed it had been Draco and another man that had walked in.

"Which one did you mean?" she asked. The other man was dark and tall and his smile seemed to light up the room. He was the poster boy for the men that don't ever grow up. There was something about him that simply screamed he was a child at heart. Not something that really did it for Angela, but she could totally understand what other women would find attractive.

"Both" Dana said and raised an eyebrow as she saw the look Draco gave once he recognised Angela.

"and it seems he likes what he sees as well." Dana joked and tried to keep her laughing to a minimum as Draco walked over to them.

"Hi Angela. Ladies" Draco started and looked them all in the eyes for a millisecond before turning his attention back at Angela.

"Draco." Angela said simply.

"We should go out for a drink." Draco stated as he stopped before their table and Angela just raised her eyebrows. Her colleagues were waiting for her to respond, slightly amused.

"Why don't you have one now. You can even sit down somewhere" Angela joked.

"You know what I mean." Draco pressed on.

"Right, let's just let me get my life insurance in order. I don't want to leave Cassy without a mother AND money" Angela countered and smiled sweetly. Too sweetly.

"Funny." Draco replied, not quite as amused as the occupants of the table were.

"I thought it was" Angela said with another sweet smile.

"Really though. It's been too long since we just talked." Draco said, getting more serious again.

"Because we had more pressing issues and even those were avoided." Angela countered. She didn't trust herself to be around him right now. She had only just realised the full extend of her feelings towards him. She had never let go off him, she never even really tried. And here he was, standing before her like the demanding boy she had known all those years ago. And his marriage was rocky. She could pry and get in between. Still she knew that would not benefit anyone and chose to be more of an adult in the situation. She wanted him to think she didn't feel anything for him any more.

"Right, but not any more. Just meet me tomorrow evening." Draco said. He was still used to people giving him exactly what he wanted, Angela realised. And somehow she liked that fact.

"What is your wife going to think of that?" Angela countered, trying to push the reality of their situation onto him.

"After everything that happened, I tend to lose my sense of caring for that" Draco sighed.

"Of course you care. Or you wouldn't have been married any more" Angela explained to him, slightly condescending, knowing if he was anything like the old Draco, it would piss him off.

"Right. So are you meeting me" Draco said through clenched teeth. Bingo, the old Draco was in there still.

"I guess a drink couldn't hurt." Angela agreed and turned back the women at her table, while he walked back to the 'nevergoingtogrowup'-man.

"He's cute, who is he?" Sylvia asked, curious and the other women looked at her expectantly.

"The father of my daughter." Angela simply put it.

"Well, that's far too complicated. Must be better men out there with a lot less complications." Sylvia said and Angela just laughed as she continued her salad. Yes, he was complicated. Even when they first met, he had been. But that was what attracted her in the first place.


	25. Chapter 24

**Tomorrow is another day**

* * *

_Chapter 24_

* * *

While Cassy tried to explain to Abigail what happened during her Christmas, she was unable to do so. Her words only confused Abigail more and more. She kept going back and forth in her sentences. As if she had no clue where to start. Abigail was trying to be kind and did not interrupt for at least half an hour, but even she ran out of patience after a while.

"Really Rose, do you have anything to add, because I'm lost." Abigail laughed and Rose sighed.

"She found out who her father is." Rose said, not wanting to say too much. This was Cassy's story and she wasn't sure how much Cassy wanted to share. Nor did she knew who she wanted to share it with. So instead of making a mistake she had chosen to keep her mouth shut completely. She had not even told her cousins. And she usually told them everything.

"I figured that much. But the rest of the story is unclear. Who is it?" Abigail said and Cassy offered her a sad smile.

"What? You don't like him?" Abigail wondered. She never liked seeing her friends sad and for some reasons he was particularly worried about Cassy. The girl really brought out her protectiveness.

"I do, it's just..." Cassy began but nudged Rose to go on. She wanted to relish in the fact her father was such a wonderful man to her, but she could not shake the feeling of loss over Scorpius. And she didn't want to cry about it, not now, not here.

"It's very complicated. She found her father and lost a friend" Rose added, very unsure what Cassy wanted her to tell. The whole story or the clip-note's version.

"What, her father was her friend?" Abigail joked and stopped when she saw Rose's face. It did not say happy things. Rose looked ready to pounce on anyone making a joke. Abigail looked down at her hands. She liked joking but she realised this was not the moment. Besides, she probably wouldn't win from Rose in a fight. She better watch her steps in this particular conversation.

"Her father is also the father of that friend." Rose explained. She knew Abigail was just trying to defuse the tension with her joke, hoping that would make it easier on Cassy. But Rose didn't think it would work. Her mother always told her to try and avoid such jokes.

"Ouch, I'm sorry Cas" Abigail said and gave her friend a quick hug, before racking her brain for something supportive to say. Nothing would come to her.

"Yeah" Cassy merely said. Reality was crashing down on Cassy. She realised that she would have to face Scorpius soon and she wasn't sure if she was ready for that. Especially after her encounter with that friend of his.

"This should have been a merely happy occasion." Abigail said and looked at Rose for some input.

"Yes" Rose answered, not quite sure what to say now either.

"But Rose is still here. So it's not her and probably not her family either. It's not mine, because I wouldn't really care. Meaning I wouldn't stop being your friend. So that leaves little choices." Abigail said as she mentally crossed off all the people Cassy knew and called her friends.

"Well you are getting warm" Rose said solemnly. She wouldn't say who it was but would answer truthfully if Abigail guessed it. Cassy would have stopped the conversation by now if she would not have wanted Abigail to know. Besides, Cassy said that she wanted to tell Abigail anyway. Rose figured she had now given her friend enough time to change her mind. She clearly wasn't going to.

"That leaves Tom and Scorpius. But Tom isn't really your friend, he is more Rose's friend.

WAIT, Scorpius?" Abigail exclaimed the last part and Rose quickly hushed her. She was sure Cassy didn't want this news spread just yet. Nor would Scorpius want that. He seemed intend on ignoring the truth.

"Yes" Cassy said, not looking at Abigail as she spoke to three letters.

"Well there goes my theory about you being perfect for one another" Abigail said, not being able to stop herself.

"Yes, that is the most important things from this whole ordeal" Rose said. Annoyed that Abigail once again tried to make this into a joke.

"That's not what I meant." Abigail said, regretting her words.

"I know" Cassy said.

"Who, what happened? How did you find out? How's your mom?" Abigail asked and Cassy sighed as she took a seat next to Abigail and Rose. After a few moments of silence she began telling about her adventures and how she found her father at last. She no longer struggled to find a start to her story. She was ready to tell Abigail everything and so she did.

* * *

At that same time Tom had cornered Scorpius in the common room.

"We should talk" Tom said and his whole demeanour showed he wouldn't take no for an answer. Then again he often came across as a no-nonsense person but Scorpius had found that really often it was all just an act. An act Tom was extremely good at, though. So even Scorpius had trouble figuring out when it was false sometimes.

"Oh really?" Scorpius said feigning to be uninterested. He wanted to be able to talk to his friend about this, but something kept him from blabbing about it. Somehow he felt that Tom would tell him to get over himself. And he probably should. Tom would tell him whatever Tom thought. Because Tom had never heard of tact and Scorpius just wanted someone to agree with him even if he knew that this was not Cassy's fault at all.

"Yes. I know what's going on, but you can't let girls like Amber go after Cassy. You know Cassy is too sweet to handle herself in conversations with girls like Amber." Tom said angrily.

"I don't care," Scorpius said, "perhaps this is her moment to learn." he added and saw Tom's anger rise.

"Of course you care. You are just too stubborn to admit it." Tom said, trying to contain his anger, which was not an easy task for him.

"So I won't" Scorpius said and picked up a book from the table before him and started flipping through the pages.

"If you ever let Amber go after Cassy again, without interfering, I WILL make sure you regret it." Tom said, his voice now slightly raising.

"I thought you were supposed to be my best friend" Scorpius asked him, now looking up from the book and raising an eyebrow as he questioned his friend's alliance.

"I am" Tom said, annoyed that Scorpius was not figuring it out.

"Then aren't you supposed to be on my side?" Scorpius asked again.

"I am. Trust me, I am." Tom said, his voice softer once more. He wished his friend would just stop being so damn stubborn.

"Right, well I can do without such great friends" Scorpius sneered and walked off. Tom sighed and sat down in a chair nearby as Amber stalked over to him.

* * *

"Are you upsetting him?" she demanded to know and Tom fought the urge to laugh.

"No, didn't you see him do his happy dance on his way out?" Tom replied a bit dry. Not the least bit impressed by Amber's anger or her posse.

"Don't be smart with me" she replied, her anger rising. She never liked Tom, only was civil to him because of Scorpius and their parents.

"No, we wouldn't want you to stop understanding" Tom said, not even looking at Amber any more. Instead he grabbed the book Scorpius had been flipping through and started skimming it for something interesting. He knew he had annoyed her once more, something he always enjoyed, and he tried to keep a straight face while none of the words he read held any meaning to him.

"Sometimes I really don't believe you belong to a respected family." Amber told him and he looked up at her and smiled.

"Just like I am surprised that your family is still respected. Oh well...Goodnight Amber" he said and turned back to his book. Amber stalked off, her posse in tow, talking loudly about his crude behaviour. And when he was sure she was gone he got up and went to look for his friend. Scorpius should have had enough time to cool off now.

* * *

"I don't care what you say Tom" Scorpius started as his friend entered their dorm.

"Good to know. Hope you don't mind if I say it anyway" Tom said with a smirk.

"Nothing ever stopped you from talking before" Scorpius said and Tom laughed, causing Scorpius to form a smile on his face as well.

"I know you don't want to talk to her now. I'm not asking you too. Just try and keep Amber out of this. We both know this should not reach her ears." Tom said and Scorpius sighed but nodded. He knew Tom was right. He knew that Amber's involvement would only make matters worse. If she ever found out the truth. He would be laughing stock of the school.

They remained silent for a little longer before getting ready for bed and joking around with the other boys in their dorm. They were speaking of that Jessica girl from Ravenclaw. She was good looking but really didn't stand in line for brains when she was born. Eric, one of Scorpius's friends, had kissed her just an hour ago and he seemed pretty proud of it, while the other boys just made fun of him for it. Scorpius just shook his head. He really didn't like any of the girls in this school. He had liked Cassy as a friend. Thankfully it had only been that. And he was sure he would be able to tolerate Rose. But all the other girls were simply too difficult for his taste. As he caught the eye of tom, he knew his friend's thoughts were, at least in part, the same.

* * *

The next morning Scorpius went down to the common room, not feeling as angry or sad as he had yesterday. He smirked at the kids he knew and quickly left the common room again as he went on to the great hall for breakfast. It was almost time for his first class already, since he had been reluctant to get out of his bed this morning. His father would be angry if he came late. His father was never late to anything. His mother however would understand. While she thought it was very important to always be on time, she liked staying in bed a little longer if possible. He felt bad as he thought of his mother and the pain she must be going through. He knew she was heartbroken now. He once heard his grandmother say that she drew her entire identity from her family. He didn't know exactly what she had meant but he knew that if their family fell apart, it would be devastating for his mother.

"Scorpius, decided to join us after all" Amber said as he sat down a few seats form her.

"Morning Amber" he said and grabbed some toast.

"Are you going to tell me what that Clarke girl did to you" she asked and he sighed.

"Why do you keep brining her up?" Tom asked.

"Because he was looking at her yesterday, with such anger in his stare" Amber replied annoyed. She hated it when people treated her like some brainless dimwit.

"Well that was a coincidence. I was cranky yesterday but it had nothing to do with her" Scorpius said, knowing Tom would truly hurt him if he didn't stick up for Cassy. And he knew he would regret anyway. He was angry but not that vindictive. Amber would be too much to handle for anyone not on her good side.

"Before the break you would hang out every day. Yesterday you didn't say one word to one another" Amber continued as if this would be reason enough.

"We saw each other over the break. We didn't see all our other friends" Scoprius said and he could see Tom nod approvingly. Really that boy didn't know subtlety if it came and bit him in his behind.

Amber noticed it too and she smirked.

"Whatever, I'll figure it out." she said and left the table. Scorpius tried his best not to give Tom his best angry look. This would only give Amber more confirmation that something was going on. Instead he finished his toast and just hoped Amber would soon find something else to occupy her.


	26. Memo

_Dear dear readers._

I am so sorry that my chapters keep having these lenghty gaps in between.

The thing is that this story is slowly coming to an end and while I know exactly where I want the story of the adults to go, I'm unsure about the children.

Or to be more precise. I know the end, it's just getting there that seems to be a problem. Not enough ideas at the moment.

So if any of you have got any suggestions about this. I'll be happy to listen. And give credit where credit is due of course!

Again sorry for the long wait and I do hope that you will all like the newest chapter!

_– Dagmar_


	27. Chapter 25

**Tomorrow is another day**

* * *

_Chapter 25_

* * *

Angela walked home after work that day and again contemplated cancelling tonight's drink. While she knew it could easily be just a drink, it felt so loaded to her. She still had feelings for him, no doubt. And things were complicated. Also, she really didn't think she could handle an angry Astoria. That woman had magic on her side, of course she would win. Besides, she didn't even know what her feelings meant. What they truly were. Did she still love who he used to be? Because over the past few months it had become clear that neither of them had been the person they were eleven years ago. Angela had been stuck in the past and stopped moving forward. She was going through the motions, living only for Cassy. The girl she named after a family tradition, his family tradition. A man that had not been a part of her life for so long now. A man that had only been a part of her life for such a short amount of time. And she still dreamed of him.

He was still in her life, because she never let him go. How was she supposed to know what her feelings meant, if she could not even let go of the image she'd had over the years? Perhaps she should meet him and see who he turned in too. OR she should cancel and figure out who she had become. She no longer knew who she was or who she wanted to be. Angela hated herself for being stuck in the past for so long. She felt like a failure. And a horrible mother. What kind of mother had she been to Cassy, while she was mourning the loss of a man that left eleven years prior? Why did she never date anyone else? Well technically she did, but she never really gave those men a fighting chance. Why not?

Angela sat down at her kitchen-table and sighed. She had so much to figure out. So much she had neglected and pushed away. She needed to figure out who she was and who she wanted to be, for Cassy. Cassy was her everything and she wanted to make sure she would be the best mother she could possibly be. Cassy deserved as much. She was a sweet girl. A girl who was too scared to fail to even take any risks and Angela knew this was partly her fault. Angela promised herself in that moment, she would do anything to make her little girl a little less scared. To give her better self-esteem and to show her the world through different eyes. And she just hoped that it would be enough to change her daughters world for the better.

Now the question just remained. Should she cancel tonight or not? She contemplated calling Hermione or Ginny. But she changed her mind as she remembered the words they spoke to her. She wasn't angry at them at all, she knew now they had been right. And she wanted to show them that she could do better. She wanted to be better. Starting with making her own decisions. In her mind she made a list of all the pro's and cons, contemplating her decision thoroughly.

Instead of cancelling, she found herself making a simple dinner at home and quickly going through her closet for something to wear. Truth be told, she didn't want to cancel. She wanted to prove to herself that the old Draco was no longer there. He must have changed. She had. She was now a mother and she would give up everything in life for her daughter. He was not only a father, he was also a husband. And she could not believe that he would ever think lightly about either roles in his life. They were no longer the careless young people they had been eleven years ago. She should see that, understand that. Therefore she decided to meet him.

* * *

As she walked into the club they had said to meet, she noticed it was quite busy and loud. She didn't mind. It meant that nobody would be paying attention to them. She liked it that way. However, it was a bit harder to find anyone in this crowd and she was glad to see a flock of blond hair on a tall man. That had to be him. Not many men had such light hair.

Draco smiled as he saw her approaching and held out a chair for her.

"Thank you" she said politely as she sat down and he nodded and took a seat across from her at their small table.

For a few minutes they only looked at one another and Angela didn't know what to say. She had hoped he would start conversation and she would simply go along.

"So..." Angela said uncomfortably.

"So..." he repeated and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Am I the only one uncomfortable here" she asked and he smiled.

"Not exactly."he started, "I want to be able and sit here with you without feeling weird, but I guess we need to get through the weirdness first." he finished and she nodded with a smile. He was right. There was a lot they had to talk about, a lot they had to work through, before there could be a comfortable sit down between them.

"I'm sorry about coming over like that the other day" Angela started. She felt she needed to apologise for it now. When she had stormed over, it had felt like the right thing to do but now she was unsure. Sure things were cleared up and Draco finally talked to his daughter after that, but that did not exactly make everything better.

"Don't be sorry. I think I saw some of the old Angela again" Draco chuckled.

"The old Angela?" she wondered.

"The Angela that would create her own destiny, The one that would not take crap from anyone" Draco said, thinking of the woman he had met all those years ago.

"Oh that Angela, yes I think we parted ways quite long ago" Angela said.

"What happened?" Draco asked her.

"When do you mean?" Angela didn't understand what he wanted to know.

"After I went back to the magical world" Draco explained.

"I found out I was pregnant a few weeks after you left" Angela stated, as if that answered his question.

"And after that?" he pressed.

"so much happened" she sighed, unsure if she wanted to share her story with him now.

"I'm listening" he said and she could see in his face that he meant it. He wanted to be there for her.

"Surely, until Astoria finds out you're here" she countered and he sighed.

"Please just talk to me" he said.

"Clips-note version: I found out I was pregnant and my family disowned me." Angela said, hoping to leave it at that.

"What?" Draco exclaimed and Angela looked around to see if anyone noticed his outburst. Nobody paid any attention to them though.

"Yes. They were angry that I got pregnant out of wedlock. Not a big win for them" Angela explained.

"I wish I could've helped you" Draco said and looked at his hands. Feelings of guilt overwhelmed him and was unsure what to say to her. He had doubted his decision to walk away from her so often and this just proved that it had not just affected him and his life.

"I think you needed to help yourself first" Angela said in a soft voice, but he heard her.

"What do you mean?" he asked, though he had an idea.

"You left this world, saying you were going to find yourself, but I think you only got further away from the real you. I think you needed to go back here to find you" And he understood what she meant. He was so lost back then. He would not have been much help to her.

"I really wish I could've been more honest with you back then" Draco offered and she smiled ruefully.

"Why? You still would've gone back to Astoria." she told him.

"How come you're so sure about that?" Draco wondered out loud.

"Because that's what you did. I have no illusions that it would've been any different." Angela said, quite sure of herself. She needed to be sure of this. She didn't want to go back to wondering what could have been if only she had done something differently. She had spend to many moments thinking like that and it got her nowhere.

"I have" Draco said truthfully. He had wondered what it would have been like so often.

"Well then get over it" Angela said, she didn't need this. Him telling her these things that would only break her heart a little more, with each word passing his lips.

"I really loved you" Draco said looking into her eyes.

"And I loved you" she replied, not looking into his eyes. She could not risk him seeing her feelings reflected in her eyes. Truth was that she never stopped loving him. However, she would not tell him that. He would go back to Astoria and she didn't want to get in the way of that. Or perhaps she was scared that he would not be touched by her feelings at all. That he would not even waver for a second if he knew how she felt. Perhaps she was scared to find out he no longer had any feelings for her, besides the feeling of gratitude for raising his daughter.

* * *

The moments after those declarations were completely silent and they stared at their hands, not daring to look at each other. Still they were more aware of one another then they had ever been. They both felt the presence of the other and hardly noticed the people around them.

"Here's your drink sir. Miss, can I get you anything?" the waitress asked and Angela smiled at her as she ordered a Bailey's. She could use a drink, because this night was already tearing at her walls and only a few minutes has passed.

"What's that?" Draco asked and Angela laughed.

"You drank it before" she helped him remember.

"Really? Oh wait that creamy drink?" he wondered.

"That's the one" she confirmed and thought back to the time where she introduced him to alcohol. Although looking back he was probably aware of alcohol, just the not the muggle kinds.

"I'll be sure to take that next." he said with a smile.

"You do that" she replied with the same knowing smile, as they both remembered that night.

* * *

"So are we going to talk about the Elephant in the room?" Angela asked as her drink was brought as well.

"Oh come on she is not that big" Draco joked and pointed to a lady who was perhaps a little heavier.

"That's rude Draco!" Angela exclaimed, truly appalled.

"I'm sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood" he said, he was never got a joking under pressure. He became slightly rude and often crossed many lines in social behaviour.

"Right. So..." Angela paused, hoping he would continue.

"So you want to talk about Astoria" he said with a sigh. He had hoped to postpone that part of their much needed conversations.

"Yes and how we are going to figure out this parenting thing together. I need to know she won't be horrible to my daughter" Angela said, laying her fear out on the table.

"She won't be" Draco tried to assure her. Astoria had not shown off her best side to Angela, but he knew she would never be horrible to a child.

"Are you sure" Angela questioned his certainty with a raised eyebrow to show her disbelieve.

"don't be mean" he warned her.

"Sorry. She just brings out the best in me" she said with a smile.

"I see that. Well how would you propose we handle things?" Draco asked her and Angela pondered that for a little bit.

"I don't want her making decisions about Cassy. That should be our job" Angela finally said.

"She is going to be involved you know" Draco countered.

"I know. Just not too much." Angela said.

"Explain." Draco really wondered how Angela would envision that.

"So far we've all been going along with her plans and we neglected to think about us and our child." Angela tried to explain.

"I have another child" he helped her remember.

"And I never forgot about him. But she seems to forget about Cassy quite easily." Angela said and he sighted, "That's unfair", he said.

"Oh I'm sorry, but do I need to remind you that she kept my letters from you" Angela told him.

"She thought you were just trying to break us up" he explained and Angela shook her head. How could he defend her after all she had done?

"What do you expect me to do, I'm married to her you know. I can't just leave her out of this" Draco then asked her.

"I never asked you too"Angela said exasperated. This conversation wasn't going as well as she had hoped. It wasn't really going at all...

"Then what did you ask? To leave her?" Draco wanted to know.

"I never asked you to leave her. I'm just telling you to man up and take a stand. You've been letting her do all the decision making. That's not the Draco I knew" She countered, hoping to get through to him.

"I haven't been that Draco in a long time" Draco said.

"Well, then fix that, because this version of you is not something to be proud off." Angela exclaimed knowing it would hit a nerve. Draco used to be a very proud man, it was just his nature and she didn't think that had changed at all.

"And you've been the same all those years? I don't think so. I've never seen someone be as closed off and afraid to say something as you've been" Draco said, raising his voice now.

"I know, which is why I've been trying to get back to the real me. Can you tell me you've been trying to do the same?" She countered, already knowing his answer.

"I've been trying to safe my marriage." Draco exclaimed, she was getting on his nerves.

"Perhaps you should try being the person she married. Instead of the weaker edition" Angela kept her act up, she wanted him to understand what she needed. She needed him to be a stronger man.

"I see the bitch is back" Draco said and sat back in his chair. He had not even noticed that he had been inching forward on his chair as his got angrier.

"I'm just being honest with you. Remember when you were honest? I actually liked you better then" Angela said as she too tried to relax a bit. Letting their emotions run wild, would not help anyone.

"Tough luck. I've changed." Draco said and he motioned at the waitress and got out his wallet.

"Not for the better" Angela said, feeling the need of having the last word. Childish she knew, but it was a strong urge after this fun-filled conversation.

* * *

_A/N:I didn't forget about this story...I just couldn't find the right spot to end this chapter...or to start the conversations in this chapter. I did make a bit longer then usual in hopes of making up for the long wait. Not to many chapters left in this story..._

_I hope you all enjoyed it._


	28. Chapter 26

**Tomorrow is another day**

* * *

_Chapter 26_

* * *

"Maybe you should try to speak to him."Abby said and Cassy just sighed, she wanted too but she was scared he would just shut her down. She hated this. She wanted to be just happy. And she wanted to share that with her friends. He was supposed to be her friend. He was. And now he was also her brother and no longer speaking to her. He simply shut her out completely. As if it had been her fault that they shared the same father.

"I just...I want him to be my friend again" Cassy whispered back and sighed again.

"Is my class not interesting enough for you, Miss Clarke?" their potions teacher asked.

"No sir, it's very interesting. It is" Cassy was quick to answer, while Abby did not feel the rush to defend herself. Then again, she really didn't care that much about potions.

"Then perhaps you two could stop whispering and sighing and simply pay attention" he scolded and guiltily Cassy went back to taking notes.

"Right, so maybe you could corner him after astronomy or something" Abby started again and Cassy could not help but sigh again.

"That's it Ladies. Detention tonight, the both of you"

"Sir, Cassy wasn't speaking. I was" Abby was quick to explain but he wouldn't hear of it. Cassy still had detention. Abby stared at her friend apologetic but Cassy just shrugged. Luck was just not on her side at this point.

* * *

"I am so sorry" Abby said as they were walking towards astronomy. They had only just left detention and were running late for their class. Sickert, the concierge, claimed he had forgotten the time. To Cassy it seemed more likely he just wanted to get them in trouble again. They had been cleaning classroom ever since diner. They were pulled out of the great hall before desert. In fact they hadn't had a time to eat much at all and Abby's stomach was growling. They were sore from sitting on their knees moping the floors and they were tired. But they still had to run in order to make it in time for class.

"Why could they not have given us this detention tomorrow?" Cassy wondered out loud. She wished she could just go to bed.

"I think they are secretly sadists. They wanted to torture us" Abby said and groaned. Cassy chuckled as they turned the last corner before the staircase to the tower.

"My mom told me the old caretaker was even worse. Filch, he was called. He was bitter and angry because he had no magic. At least Snickert has magic. But he is still bitter if you ask me." Abby said and Cassy just rolled her eyes to Abby's back. If there was one thing Abby was good at, it was gossip.

Cassy just wanted to jump up the stairs when she saw Scorpius coming down.

"Scorpius." Cassy said and stood still, not noticing how she blocked his path.

"Can you move?" he asked angrily and Cassy quickly stepped aside.

"Where are you going?" Abby asked and he just flipped her off and kept walking, " How rude" Abby said and started walking again. Cassy just nodded and let her head hung low as she followed her friend.

* * *

"Where were you?" Jessica said and walked towards them with a heavy load of bags.

"I thought I'd bring your books. Is there lead in your bag Abby?" Jessica added as handed them their bags.

"Thanks Jess, I forgot all about my books" Cassy said and gave her roommate a big smile.

"That's what roommates are for!" Jessica said, returning the smile.

"You guys are just in time" Alexis said as she too walked over the the girls.

"I know. Sickert only just let us go." Abby explained their tardiness. After all it was not like Cassy to be late. Which meant Abby was always on time as well. Abby rarely left Cassy's side.

"Oh right, detention" Alexis remembered. The girls then joined the rest of the students that were now lined against the walls of the tower, waiting for their teacher to start class. Scorpius came rushing back up the stairs carrying his books and stood next to Tom. Cassy silently followed him and then caught Tom's apologetic face. She offered him a weak smile and then turned away again, looking at her feet. As uncomfortable as it was to be ignored by your friend. It was even more uncomfortable to have all your other friend constantly looking at you with such apologetic faces. They were making her feel worse with all the sympathy looks. It made her feel like a loser more then anything even though she knew that was not what they wanted to show with those faces at all. They wanted to be comforting. They weren't.

* * *

"Have you talked to her yet?" Tom asked Scorpius and Scorpius sighed.

"Actually yes. Just now on the stairs" Scorpius said annoyed.

"Were you nice?" Tom asked sternly.

"I wasn't mean" Scorpius admitted and Tom sighed now. He hated this side of Scorpius. He was so stubborn and always so sure of his own truth. He never thought he could be wrong and he never apologised.

"I guess that's all I can ask for" he said and then a hush fell over the room as their teacher walked in.

"Today we will be taking a look at the west. Who can tell me what we can see here?" The teacher asked and Alexis and a few others raised their hands. The teacher smiled, obviously pleased that people did their homework. Then again it would be uncommon for a Ravenclaw not too.

"That is it for today. Go to your dorms, get some sleep" the teacher said and everyone grabbed their bags and walked towards the stairs. Cassy sighed and felt her back ache as she bend to pick up her bag. When she looked up again, she noticed almost everyone was going down in a slow line. Nobody was rushing to get down. It annoyed her, because she just wanted to get some sleep. But seeing who was last in line made her a little less anxious. Scorpius.

* * *

"I really wish you would talk to me" she said softly as she stood behind him.

"I did earlier" Scorpius said impatiently. He wished everyone would hurry up. He did not want to be here.

"No you just wanted to get passed me" Cassy said.

"So I talked" he said matter-of-factly.

"I really miss our friendship." Cassy tried.

"It was a lie" Scorpius said getting angry.

"It wasn't." Cassy defended to him. She really wished he would come of his high horse but she knew she would never be able to tell him that.

"Everything was a lie" Scorpius kept up.

"No it wasn't. I knew just as much as you did when I came here" Cassy said feeling her own anger rise, what was he trying to say?

"Yeah, right" he said sarcastically.

"right, maybe not. You knew more. You knew who your father was." Cassy said snidely.

"and now you know yours as well." Scorpius said and turned to her to flash her a fake smile to pretend he was happy for her. There was such loathing in that smile, it hurt Cassy to look at it. She never had too many friends, or any at all, but she had never been loathed.

"I wish that didn't end our friendship. It doesn't have to change anything" Cassy tried again.

"It changes everything" Scorpius screamed. People in front of him were now slowly coming to a halt and turned around to see the what the fuss was about. Tom and Abby tried to keep people from hearing by pushing them down the stairs but it wasn't easy.

"Not really. We were friends before, we could still be that" she said even though she knew everything was different now.

"But we're not friends. We're siblings" Scorpius said angrily. He said it softly and Abby just hoped nobody had heard him. She knew neither one wanted this to come out like this.

"Does that exclude friendship?" she asked him and he sighed exasperated.

"You coming here, with your mom. It ruined everything" Scorpius admitted, this was what he was most angry about.

"It's not like we knew what would happen, coming here" she countered.

"Your mom ended the marriage of my parents" Scorpius said angrily waving his arms. This was the first time he said those words out loud. So far he had not been willing to believe his parents were splitting up.

"My mom didn't end anything."Cassy screamed at him before pausing, "Wait. They're splitting up?"

"They might very well be. They hardly speak" Scorpius said softer now and Cassy put a hand on his arm to comfort him.

"I'm, sorry!" Cassy said sincerely. "Look my mother never thought she'd see him again. She had no ulterior motives when we moved here." Cassy said, softer now. She realised that this was what Scorpius was angry about. The marriage of his parents being on the rocks. She didn't want that for him. She grew up without a father, she could manage without one in the next few years. Or have him part-time. Scorpius shouldn't have to deal with that. He should have his dad around full-time.

"Yeah, right!" Scorpius said sarcastically.

"She is an amazing person and she can't help it that your parents don't know how to be honest with each other" Cassy now said. She knew it was unfair but she wanted to defend her mother. Her mother had never been anything but great to her.

"That's not fair." he said.

"Maybe not but my mother didn't cause this." she tried to explain it to him once more.

"They were fine before you came." Scorpius said, knowing it was a lie that she would easily see through.

"If that were true me coming her would not have been that big a problem. They would have easily worked it out" Cassy said, as he expected, still it angered him.

"How would you know? You only had your mother growing up" Scorpius said and he knew this was a low blow. Behind him he could hear people draw in breaths. He did not need to look behind him to know it was Tom he had angered by that comment. Tom was far to kind to be a Slytherin.

"That wasn't her fault, now was it" Cassy said, trying to sound strong, but he could see the hurt in her eyes. He had crossed a line there.

"How do you know it wasn't" Scorpius asked her, not at all insincere.

"I know her through and through. Besides we had a very long talk after I found out who my dad really was" Cassy said, firmly believing no blame could be placed on her mother.

"So it's his fault?" Scorpius asked.

"Yes. I don't think he will win the father of the year award, sorry" Cassy said with a smidgen of sarcasm.

"He is a good father" Scorpius said, feeling an overwhelming need to defend his father. He knew the way his father was brought up and how he had fought to be better. And he was, better at it.

"Sure he is, I wouldn't know" Cassy said and tried to push passed Scorpius, so she could walk away. This conversation had hurt enough.

"He really is a good father" Scorpius said again, walking after her a few steps.

"Well unless your mom changes her mind, I will never find out" Cassy said, knowing it would hurt him to hear that but she knew his mother was against her presence.

"That won't keep him from being in your life. He's not like that" Scorpius said. He wanted to defend his mother, but he also knew it was true. His mother was amazing, to him. She tended to be relentless to outsiders that got in her way. He had seen that when some kid bullied him in pre-school.

"If you say so" Cassy said, looking over her shoulder.

"Yes" Scorpius said simply.

"Whatever. I don't really care. I spend my whole life without a father. I can do it a little longer. I just wish things weren't so messed up" Cassy said as she turned around to face him again.

"That they are" he agreed.

"Well seems like we finally found something to agree on." Scorpius said and it was as if that comment brought back all the anger he had felt these past few days.

"So it seems," Cassy said before adding, "Scorpius please, can we just try and be friends again?"

"I'm not really interested in being your friend right now" he said and walked away. Having her around made him remember the mess that was his home. It made him think of all the things that could happen while he was here. It made him think of all the things he could find once he returned home. On his way out he ran into Tom but he hardly even noticed.

"Scorpius?" Tom wondered out loud. Tom was angry for all the things his friend had said to a girl that was obviously fragile. But he also worried about his friend. Simply because Scorpius didn't talk and he had no way of knowing just what was running through his mind exactly.

"Not now" Scorpius exclaimed and kept walking. Tom shrugged, looked up the staircase and found a sad looking Cassy.

"He'll turn around. He always does. But he likes to be angry and blame others first." Tom explained and offered a smile, before following Scorpius.

"He's stupid" Cassy said to no one in particular, since she didn't know there was anyone else around. She jumped a little when Abby replied "Yes he is right now".

Abby put her arm around Cassy as she steered her into the direction of their dorm. She said nothing else, just held Cassy. And right now, that was all Cassy needed.


	29. Chapter 27

**Tomorrow is another day**

* * *

_Chapter 27_

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**A/N: _This is longer then most chapters. There are three reasons for that. 1. I'll be going on vacation in two weeks and I'm not sure if I can update again before that. 2. I did not want to split this up even more, since it's already a continuation of the night in chapter 25. 3. You all wait long enough on updates as it is. A bit a treat like this won't hurt._**

_**I hope you'll enjoy it! Let me know what you think. And if you see any mistakes scuh as typo's and such. After staring at it for too long I don't see it anymore.**_

* * *

They walked outside in de cool crisp evening air in silence. Draco had insisted on walking Angela home, but neither knew what to say now. They had not expected to fight like they had. They did not expect any of that. And it was certainly not what they had hoped for.

Angela sighed. She had hoped to resolve some things. She wanted to move on. She wanted to fix the situation her daughter was in. She wanted to be the best mom she could possibly be for her daughter, but she did not want to forget about Scorpius. They were the true victims in this situation and for too long this whole situation had been all about the grown-ups.

Angela looked sideways and discovered a smile playing on the lips of Draco. She raised an eyebrow and he just started laughing.

"Well this night went well." he said through his chuckles.

"Yes we sure talked" Angela replied with a small smile. This was the Draco she remembered. Trying to make light of situations. Just so the strain would lift.

"So much fun" Draco said as he sighed and offered her a smile, showing he was sorry for the things he said.

"And here I was thinking Astoria was our biggest problem." Angela said and returned the smile, hoping he would get she was still kidding.

"Yes" Draco sighed. He knew she meant it as a joke, but it also brought him back to reality.

"Well this is me. Thanks for dropping me off" Angela said and stood still as she looked up at him, not sure what to do now.

"You're welcome" Draco said, also not sure what to do now. Should he just walk away? Or should he insist on talking more. Nothing had been resolved, they hadn't even made any headway.

"Care for a cup of tea?" Angela said and took a step to the front door, getting her keys out of her bag at the same time.

"Sure." Draco said with another smile. He was glad she wasn't ready to end the night either. If he was honest with himself, it was not just because nothing had been resolved. Fighting with her had sparked a light in him, he had long forgotten. It had been heated and not as fun-filled as he would have liked, but he had felt alive. He had felt the fighter in him rise again. And it felt good.

Angela looked at him over her shoulder as he followed her into her house and down to the kitchen. She was glad he had not left. That he walked with her to her house. She had been able to let the anger decrease a little and realise all the feelings she had felt during their fight, other then anger. She could not deny that she had wanted to kiss him, right before he realised he had inched closer to her, crossing their table. But he had leaned back again and for some reason it had angered her. Although she knew very well, this had been a good thing. He was married and she was not blind to that fact. She also knew that Draco was loyal as could be to those he called family. He would not betray Astoria. And he shouldn't. She should not even try to make him a disloyal man.

Draco sat down at the kitchen-table as Angela made some tea. Silently she walked around the kitchen as she grabbed mugs, sugar, milk and some cookies from several cupboards. Draco looked at the kitchen in the mean time. It wasn't big but it was cosy and the small square kitchen-table fit well. The table was made of a dark grainy wood and could seat four people. He saw Angela putting the water on the stove. The stove was positions near the door that led to the garden, or that's where he figured it led too. Under the stove was a oven en next to those were the cupboards made of the same dark work as the table. On top of that was a lighter worktop with two sinks.

The walls were white which countered the dark wood of the kitchen nicely. And the chairs around the table were also white with a soft cushioned seat. It was simple but nice.

It took another 5 minutes after Angela too had sat down and their steaming cups of tea were in front of them, before the silence was broken again.

"This is more like it" Draco said smiled and Angela looked up from her cup and into his eyes. For a moment she swam in their depths until she realised a reply would be polite. It would also make her look slightly more sane than she felt.

"Like what?" Angela asked him, not quite getting his meaning.

"Like when we first met" He explained and she understood him.

"yes it is." she nodded in agreement.

"I like it." he confessed as he leaned back against his chair, his shoulders relaxing.

"Me too" she agreed and she smiled at him, leaning her arms down on the table, stirring her tea.

"Remember Jack?" Draco said and Angela could not help but smile.

"Of course, he really hated you" She chuckled and Draco just nodded.

"yes well, I came into his store expecting him to cater to my every need." Draco explained.

"Really?" Angela laughed, he had never told her that before. It was nice to see something other then perfection from him. It always seemed like he thought everything through so much, nothing was unexpected to him.

"That's what I was used too. I came to his shop in my first week in the real world. It was quite the rude awakening" Draco laughed at the memory of that.

"I can believe that. Your world is so different" Angela said, thinking of everything she had learned in the past few months. She had just been lucky to be guided by Hermione and Ginny.

"Yes and here, I used to be someone. Before the war" Draco said with a shrug.

"You are again, aren't you?" Angela wondered. Everywhere it seemed people knew him.

"I build a successful company and suddenly people forgot all the sins of my family" Draco said with sudden distaste shining through in his words.

"Money and power do that to people" Angela agreed with him. She had seen it happen all around in her world as well. It was nothing reserved just for witches.

"Not to your new friends" Draco said smiling a little.

"No but they didn't like you from the get-go. It wasn't about the war for them" Angela said honestly.

"I was such a prick to them" Draco chuckled. He was no longer the boy he had been in school. But he could not blame them for seeing him that way. He still thought of them the same as well.

"I bet you were. That's just who you were" Angela said, thinking of who he had been when she had first met him.

"Until you challenged me to be kind" Draco smiled at her. Back then he had thought her to be annoying first. Looking back, she had been good for him though. He was a better man for knowing her. His marriage wouldn't have worked if he had not been confronted by his bad attitude beforehand. Which would suggest Angela was the reason his marriage to Astoria worked out. He mentally shook his head and promised himself not to tell this to either woman. Neither would take it well he figured.

"I'm like that sometimes" Angela said, returning the smile. When she was younger she usually called people out on their behaviour. While Draco now saw it as a virtue, it was often not so. Not all people liked being told what they are doing wrong. That girl had been honest and kind and supportive of others and loyal as could be. There were some parts of that girl Angela could do with again now. She vowed to herself to be more like her former self again. Just with a little more tact in social situations.

"I'm glad I met you, then" Draco said.

"Me too." Angela agreed.

"No regrets?" He wondered.

"Plenty, but not about meeting you or the fact you gave me a beautiful daughter" Angela said honestly. She did regret letting him go, but she could not tell him that.

"She really is beautiful" Draco said and looked at one of the pictures that hung on the wall. Muggle pictures always seemed strange to him, like there was something missing. Still, Cassy looked beautiful. And happy.

"just wait until you know her as well as I do." Angela said with a smile. She could not wait for him to know her. "You'll fall even more in love with her" she added.

"I am sure of that" he said.

"I'll get you another cup" Angela stood up abruptly and took the mugs in order to fill them again.

"Thanks you" Draco said and realised that had been the end of their little chitchat. Perhaps it was time for more serious subjects.

"Cassy told me she doesn't know of any family" Draco said uncertain. He had wanted to ask her about this for a while now, but it never seemed to be the right time. He had finally figured such subjects never came at an opportune moment.

"She doesn't" Angela stated simply.

"How come?" Draco wondered. The Angela he knew had been close to her family. She would not have walked away from them on a whim.

"What do you think?" Angela said snidely. She did not like talking about this. It hurt too much.

"I don't know..." Draco said and she could not help but sigh. Was he really that daft?

"They didn't want her" she explained and she saw the emotions of disbelieve, anger, sadness and eventually pity cross his face.

"Does she know that?" Draco suddenly asked, anger taking a hold of his facial expression again.

"Of course not. I simply never told her anything about it. As far as she knows there is only us" Angela said, not understanding how he could even think she would inform her daughter of this. That would've been quite the conversation indeed. '_Hi dear daughter. Want to know why you have no family? Well they did not want you. They were against me having you. They wished I'd taken care of it'_. It would have gone over really well, she was sure, Angela thought to herself sarcastically.

"That must have been hard" Draco sympathised.

"Nobody ever said life was easy" Angela said simply, as she put his new cup of tea in front of him.

"But.." Draco started, he felt bad for Angela. And she knew it...and hated it.

"Look, let's just drop it." Angela interrupted him.

"Why not, maybe I could help you work things out" Draco offered.

"Dammit Draco, I just don't" Angela said, ignoring his offer.

"Well I do want to talk about it" Draco countered. He knew she was shutting him out because it hurt, but he wanted to help her. And helping her would mean getting past all the hurt.

"I don't really care what you want here" Angela exclaimed. She stood up angrily.

"This is about Cassy as well" Draco said, standing up as well.

"I just don't want to talk about this!" Angela said again, her voice breaking.

"Why not?" he asked her again, louder this time.

"Because it hurts, Draco. It hurts. I was all alone. You left, they left, everybody left and I was stuck. Stuck in a life I knew nothing about and there was nobody around to explain it to me. I had no money, no roof over my had and no job. I hated life back then and I hated you. Talking about it...it brings it all back." Angela exclaimed, tears rolling down her face and Draco pulled her close, comforting her. For a little bit she let him, but she pushed him away and looked into his eyes. They leaned in, their lips almost touching. Until Angela came back down to earth and pushed herself away from him.

"What the hell are we doing" Angela said angrily and Draco looked at the ground, feelings of guilt overwhelming him. "Who are we kidding?" she added.

"What do you mean?" he wondered.

"We're hanging out like we're friends. But we're not." Angela explain exasperatedly, as if he should have understood her immediately.

"We're not." Draco agreed. He had liked their conversation and the calmness in which they held it. He liked talking to her and comforting her. But it wasn't good for them. It wasn't feelings of friendship he felt. And he loved Astoria too much to give into this.

"No. I don't think we'll ever be." Angela said and another tear rolled down her cheek. She hated ending this, but she needed too.

"We could, maybe" Draco said. He didn't want to see her walk out of his life. He had been happy to have her back. And the thought of losing her again feared him more then he wanted to admit.

"Because I've loved you ever since I first saw you. And you're married to Astoria" Angela said in a voice nothing but a mere whisper. She quickly walked into the hallway.

"I..." Draco was dumbfounded. He didn't know what to say. He was never good in situations like these.

"And I know you need to try and make your marriage work." Angela said as she watched him struggle for words.

"I wish...things had been different from the start" Draco said as followed her out.

"Me too." Angela said with a smile.

"So this is it?" Draco asked her, hoping she would say something different.

"I think so." Angela said as she opened the front door.

"I want to help you. Be there for you. Maybe find your parents? " Draco said. He knew he was being selfish now. She could not have him around. And he could not be around her, not if he wanted his marriage to Astoria to be fixed. And he did want that.

"But you shouldn't."Angela said again with a small smile. She fighting back the many tears she felt coming on. Only a few left her eyes. But she knew he had to leave fast. She was fighting a losing battle.

"I guess not" Draco agreed.

"I really never wanted to come between you and Astoria" Angela said. She felt the need to tell him that, although she was sure he knew that. "Fix your marriage. Perhaps in a few months we will be able to be just friends" she added.

Draco nodded and leaned forward to place a kiss on her forehead before he walked out the door. Leaving her behind once more. Breaking their hearts once more. But they both knew this was their best option. The best choice to make. That just didn't make it any easier. She heard a pop and knew he was gone. She closed the door and slid down against it, tears now flowing freely.

Draco stood before his front door and waiting a moment to catch his breath and gather his thoughts. He sighed and stepped through the door, turning to the table right next to it. It held pen and paper and a beautiful barn owl. He wrote a few small words and tied it to the bird before walking into the house. He knew where his wife would be. The kitchen. He walked in and saw the tear-stained face of his wife as she looked up at him. She had been waiting for him and she had known exactly where he had been. He knew that just by looking at her.

"I want to fix our marriage" he said as he took a seat across from her.

"I've never wanted anything as much as I want that"Astoria cried as she grabbed his hands. She had been so afraid he would ask for a divorce once he came home. She had been sure that all her actions to keep him from Angela would have driven him to her.

"I know" he said and looked at his hands. He knew what she was going to say next. He knew it was necessary but he still dreaded it.

"I can't have Angela in our lives. At least not now" she said, adding the last part more for him than for herself. If it were up to her, Angela would fall of the face of the earth. After all, Angela was the one person that could take the love of her life away from her.

"I know" Draco said again.

"You know?" Astoria wondered. She never thought he would agree to this term. She knew she would need it, but she feared it would make him turn away from her.

"As does Angela. She suggested we took a break from talking. Unless it concerns our children." Draco explained. Still looking at his hands as she held on to them.

"For me? For us?" Astoria wondered. Perhaps Angela was not the monster she had envisioned all along.

"For all of us" Draco said with a sigh. That was the moment that Astoria realised just how much Draco loved Angela. She just prayed he loved her more.

Angela heard another pop and for a moment thought Draco had come back. Immediately she wanted to slap herself, because she knew he wouldn't be coming back. Instead she stood up from her spot on the floor and walked towards the kitchen, where she had heard the sound.

Before she could say anything, two arms wrapped around her and she heard Hermione's voice saying soothing words in her ear. She let her friend walk her over to a chair and she sat down compliantly.

"It's going to be OK" Hermione said and sat down in a chair right in front of Angela, "It's all going to be OK" she said again and Angela just nodded as more tears fell down her face. She was alone again.


	30. Chapter 28

**Tomorrow is another day**

* * *

_Chapter 28_

* * *

It was late in the morning and Abby was running late for class. She was running around their dorm, trying to fetch all the right books. Cassy was saving some food for her, she had promised before she went downstairs. Abby quietly cursed herself for sleeping in again. She had been late pretty much every other day this month. It was driving her insane. She knew that it was her own fault, but she had found some amazing books in the library and when she started reading she could not put them down. Last night, she finished the latest book, thankfully. Perhaps that would help her be on time from now on.

"Hi, Abs" Alexis said as she walked in to get her perfectly packed school-bag. She never slept in late and she never waited until morning to find her books. It was a good thing she was nice or Abby would've hated her for it. Next to Cassy and Alexis she felt so terribly disorganised. Then again, she could only blame herself for postponing everything.

"Hi Lexie." Abby said and frantically kept looking around.

"Which book are you looking for now?" Alexis asked, suppressing a smile. This was not the first time that Abby needed help locating her stuff.

"Potions" Abby said, looking under her bed.

"Oh, I'm sure it is fine if we share mine" Alexis offered as she tried to see anything in the enormous mess that was their room at this point.

"My homework was in it" Abby said exasperated.

"Really? That would be the third time this month you would be late turning it in" Alexis said, stating a fact, but discovering too late it sounded very much like an accusation.

"Exactly" Abby replied irritable.

"Where did you last see it?" Alexia asked and dropped to the floor, tossing clothes aside, hoping to find it. Not only did she want to keep her friend from getting in trouble, she knew it would cost them points. She wanted to win the house cup of course. And their house-mates would not take kindly to Abby if she lost them points (again). Alexis knew she had to help.

"you know, maybe tonight you could pack your bag beforehand?" Alexis said with a smile as she held up the missing potions-book.

"I will love you forever" Abby said and took the book before the girls bolted to the common room, out of the portrait hole and towards the classroom where their first class of the day would be starting shortly. Potions.

* * *

They made it there well before the class would start and without any missing assignments. For Abby this had to be a first. The best part of it all was though, Cassy and Jessica standing there with some slices of toast. Her stomach grumbled just as she reached the girls and she laughed out loud.

"I guess you found everything?" Cassy asked and Alexis answered them for Abby, who was now wolfing down the toast.

"So is there any chance you will tell us what was going on yesterday?" Jessica asked then as they walked to their seats. Abby glanced at Cassy but saw she remained quite calm. At least on the outside.

"Nothing really. Just a misunderstanding" Abby answered for Cassy, while she looked at her friend worriedly. Alixis saw the look Abby gave and made a mental note to ask the girls again, when there weren't so many possible listeners.

"You're fighting with Scorpius?" Jessica asked now, looking directly at Cassy. Blocking Abby from her view. It was clear she wanted Cassy to answer her. Abby knew why too, Cassy couldn't lie. Unfortunately they both knew Jessica talked too much. Lying was the only option here.

"Well not really. We just disagree on something" Cassy said, rummaging through her bag, not looking at Jessica.

"On what?" Jessica pressed on.

"I'd rather not talk about it. I'm sorry." Cassy said, finally looking at her. She needed to get this point across and looking at the girl might help with that.

"But Abby knows?" Jessica wondered, acting hurt and making Cassy feel incredibly guilty even though she knew it was not strange at all to tell a best friend something but not tell a nice room-mate.

"We all need someone to share things with sometimes." Alexis said and the subject was dropped, much to Cassy's liking. That was also the moment that class started to really fill up and Jessica was soon distracted by a cute boy that walked in.

* * *

"I have a feeling this is going to be a tough exam" Cassy said as they walked out of history later that day. It was never her favourite subject, altough all the magic parts made it more interesting to her. It still seemed so pointless to be learning what happened twohundred years ago.

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Alexis said with a smile.

"Fine about what?" Rose wondered as she joined their little group.

"History. Where did you come from?" Cassy wondered and Rose smiled mischivously, "Don't tell me you got yourself another detention" Cassy added as she shook her head. She was scared to break rules, but Rose seemed to be having fun breaking as many as she could.

"I can't help it." Rose said, feining innocence.

"Yes you can, you simply don't" Abby said with a smile and Rose just shrugged, she knew Abby was probably right. Her mother had even urged her too pipe down a little. Of course those words had less meaning, since her uncle had told her about all the time her parents broke rules, during new years. Her mother had been so angry when she heard him talk about it, but she had been unable to deny any of it.

"So what are you guys doing now?" Rose asked then.

"I wanted to study a bit." Cassy said and pointed in the direction of the library. The moment she heard that there would be a test of history, she had been scared. She did not want to fail.

"Really, it's such nive weather though." Rose tried and Cassy just smiled and shruggd.

"Anyone else in for a stroll?" Rose asked and looked at each of the Ravenclaw girls in turn.

"I am, but I want to drop my bag first." Abby said and walked up the first staircase.

"I'll be waiting at the door." Rose said and walked off.

"I'll walk up with you." Alexis said to Abby, while Jessica said she was off to see some friend in Hufflepuff. Cassy waved them bye and made her way to the library, she wished she could allow herself to just hang out, but she knew she'd feel guilty about not studying.

* * *

Abby and Alexis walked up to their dormroom and put their bags down.

"Are you coming out with Rose and me?" Abby asked and Alexis just shook her head no.

"I'm just going to read a bit until dinner" Alexis explained and flopped down on her bed.

"Good book?" Abby wondered as she grabbed her cloak from her trunk and put it on.

"Not sure yet, but you haven't been able to put it down, so I guess it is" Alexis said as she held up the book Abby had been addicted to the past week.

"Enjoy, but be careful, you'vee seen how addictive it was." Abby smiled and wanted to walk out of their room when Alexis started talking again.

"What's up with Cassy?" she asked, looking at Abby over her book.

"Nothing, why?" Abby lied, hoping to sound casual.

"Well something is up. She's sad. We noticed it last night during class. And then you two came in late." Alexis explained.

"Really, Cassy is fine" Abby tried, but knew Alexis wasn't falling for it.

"Fine, don't tell me. But let's not pretend I'm stupid. I just want to help her." Alexis said a little more snappy then she had intended for, "I'm sorry. I should just talk to Cassy, instead of asking you" Alexis apologised with a smile. It was clear Abby was just protecting a friend. Alexis understood it and actually liked it. She hadn't been too close with Cassy and Abby. They were friends, but not like Abby and Cassy had been with each other. But she cared about the girls and she was worried about Cassy.

* * *

Cassy looked around the library for a nice place to sit down. It was busier that usual and most of the front tables were taken. She started walking passed the bookshelves, and found many of the table between them full as well. It wasn't until she was in the very back that it was completely empty. Just the way she liked it, it kept her protected from any possible distractions.

She sat down on the comfortable cushioned seat and grabbed her book. Unfortunately distraction came not long after she finished the first page. Apparently more people were looking for seats.

"You can sit he.." Cassy said but stopped dead in her tracks when it was Scorpius.

"Oh, sorry. I'll leave" he said and turned around.

"Please don't. We can at least sit silently together, can't we?" Cassy asked and he looked at her intently, seemingly pondering it.

"I still don't want to talk" Scorpius said as she dropped his bag next to the seat he sat down in.

"Good, I'm here to study" Cassy said and offered him a smile before turning back to her book. She tried to focus on the words, but that first sentence was just not making any sense to her. She kept rereading it and the result was the same. Nonsense. She shyly glanced over at Scorpius and she him frowning over his homework. Was he having the same trouble as her, she wondered. Probably not, she told herself, he was perfectly fine with not being her friend. She was the one who wanted to resolve their problems. She went back to her book, but gave up and just pretended to read.

She didn't really see any of the words, just the fight they had last night.

"At some point you might want to turn the page" Scorpius said, not even looking up.

"I..." Cassy began, not sure what to say.

"I'm uncomfortable as well." Scorpius said and tried to smile, but it seemed more of a grimace.

"I just feel really horrible about last night. I don't want to fight" Cassy said.

"Me neither, I just...I don't want to be your friend either" Scorpius said.

"oh" she softly said.

"I'm not trying to be mean. I know it's not your fault. I just..." Scorpius tried to explain.

"Need someone to blame." she finished for him. It sounded so cruel hearing her say it, but it was true.

"I need time to let it sink in" He tried to give it a less negative twist, but knew she would still know the truth.

"Right..."she simply replied.

* * *

"Well aren't you two having an adult conversation." said a voice from behind the bookshelves to the right. They both turned to look and found Amber standing behind it.

"Amber, are you eavesdropping?" Scorpius asked, obviously a little irritated by this.

"Nope, just accidentally overheard you" Amber said innocently.

"Of course you did." Scorpius replied sarcastically.

"Why are you fighting?" Amber asked pointed at Cassy then Scorpius.

"That's between us, Amber" Scorpius said and immediately realised he should have said that they weren't fighting. Too late now, he figured and just kept staring her down.

"What did the little mudblood do?" Amber asked nastily now.

"She's not a mudblood and she didn't do anything" Scorpius said, more irritated now. He wasn't friends with Cassy right now, but he knew she would not stand up for herself. He felt he needed to do it.

"Yet you blame her? For what?" Amber said with a smirk on her face.

"Like I said, none of your business." Scorpius said, he closed the book in front of him and placed it in his bag. Studying wasn't going to work now. HE was angry and he just needed some air.

"Does it have anything to do with your dad staying at the Zabini's?" Amber said and could not help but smile with both kids before her got enlarged eyes. She was onto something, no matter how they tried to deny it.

"He's not. He's at home" Scorpius said, he knew his father had only been at the Zabini's for one night. Rumours rarely started after one night only. It was clear she and her parents had simply been dying for some new gossip.

"He is now, but he wasn't" Amber said and Cassy just looked at Scorpius in confusion. She hadn't know that their father had been that estranged with his wife. It gave her no joy whatsoever, even th0ough she wanted her parents to get together. She also didn't want Scorpius' parents to break up. Unrealistic, sure.

"Whatever Amber" Scorpius said, trying to end this conversation.

"I'll figure it out you know. And don't think I'll go easy on you when I do girl" Amber said, the last part looking at Cassy, who shrunk back in her seat.

"Sorry" Scorpius said and stood up, grabbing his things and walking away, leaving a scared and distraught Cassy behind. She wanted to get up and go to her dorm, but her legs felt a little too shaky and so she stayed put. She was scared Amber would come back and she hoped someone would come looking for her soon.

* * *

**Authors note: I've been busy working on a story I want to get published so this took some time. Also I took a long trip to the states, so lost some time there as well. Anyway, here is a new installement and I hope it's free of mistakes but I doubt it. See any grammar or spelling mistakes, please let me know. I do think I avoided plotholes, but let me know if I didn't. **

Only a few more chapters left to go, hopefully the next few chapters will be done quicker but I am not making any promises.

**I hope you enjoy!**


	31. Chapter 29

**Tomorrow is another day**

* * *

_Chapter 29_

* * *

It had been years since Angela last thought of her parents. She never talked about them and after years it became easy to stop thinking of them as well. Whenever she did, it hurt, so she distracted herself. She put her energy into her work and Cassy. And Cassy had been such a delight to Angela. Even though life had not been easy for them. Money was tight and Cassy had been bullied in elementary. All that never seemed to matter when they were together. Of course it helped that she met some kind and helpful people along the way. Like Deborah and her old boss. She realised she really needed to include Deborah in her life more. The move had pretty much ended everything for them and it was mostly Angela's fault, she knew it.

Now, since Draco had brought her parents up, she had been thinking of her parents non-stop. It was difficult to feel all the emotions she had ignored and pushed away for all those years. And she had never felt as lonely as she had felt now. Her parents were supposed to be here. They were supposed to support her, to love her. To love their granddaughter. A girl who had grown into such a wonderful human being, Angela was hurt by the fact she didn't know her family. She could not understand how someone would not want her in their lives. And she was angry that it took so long for her to give her daughter some idea of family.

Still she also knew that her parents never tried to get in contact with her. Although they could. They knew Deborah. The woman was practically their neighbour, they could've asked her. She would've send the message through. Right? Only one way to find out.

"Hi Deb. Sorry I know it's been too long" Angela started, after her friend had answered the phone.

"It has been." Deborah said softly. It was clear she was angry about the time that had past, but she did not hang up, which was a good sign.

"I...so much has happened." Angela said, not really sure where to start now. She needed to explain all that had happened. Of course, she would have to leave out some details. At least for now anyway. There was no possible way that she could explain to her friend, that her daughter was a witch, not over the phone.

"I bet" her friend replied now. It was clear she was waiting for Angela to talk. She wasn't going to try and keep a conversation going.

"I ran into Cassy's father" Angela blurted out quickly, feeling that's what started her journey these past few months.

"OH!" Deborah exclaimed, "I'm sorry. I wish you would've called me. I would have been there for you" she then added, scolding her friend for not leaning on her.

"I know. I couldn't tell anyone." Angela said simply.

"Why not?" Deborah asked a little confused. This wasn't something that usually required secrecy.

"I didn't know how I felt about it." Angela admitted, she didn't think she had told anyone else that.

"And?" Deborah wanted to know, she was curious about the feelings this man had brought out. It had been Angela's big love back when they met. They had been so close and happy. When he left it broke her. Seeing him again might have broken her again. She now understood why it had taken Angela so long to call her. It had been too hard for her.

"Well, we are working on coming to an agreement for Cassy. But it's not easy" Angela said, trying to keep her voice steady, while her eyes began to sting and her throat suddenly became tight.

"I bet not" Deborah said, not wanting to put any judgement in her answers or her voice. She wanted to know what Angela thought first, before she shared her thoughts.

"He is married." Angela said, knowing this would be enough explanation on that part for Deborah.

"oh..."

"And they have a child who is in Cassy's year." Angela added, just seeing the faces Deborah would be making now on the other end of the line. She smiled, realising she felt comfortable talking about it with her friend. She should have called much sooner.

"ouch" Deborah said and couldn't hide a small snigger. Not because it was funny, at all. Simply because it never seemed to be easy for Angela. There was always some detail to make any task in life much more difficult for her.

"Yeah..." Angela just uttered with a sad smile. A moment of silence followed the utter where Angela didn't know what to say and Deborah tried to formulate a question that still held no judgement.

"Did Cassy meet him?" Deborah finally settled on.

"Over winter break" Angela answered simply.

"must have been hard on you" Deborah sympathised.

"That part wasn't."Angela said frankly, before adding, "Meeting his wife has been the hardest".

"A ray of sunshine I assume?" Deborah stated, more then asked.

"Absolutely" Angela answered anyway. Before asking what she had been wanting to ask all along, "Deb, question: did my parents ever ask about us?"

"yes" Deborah said simply.

"Really?" Angela was surprised.

"Every now and then they would ask me how you were doing" she explained.

"And?" Angela wondered.

"I told them the same thing every time. If you want to know, call her" Deborah said, her voice bland, not showing much emotion at all. It might not have been the easiest task to deny them information, but Angela knew Deborah would forever give them the same answer if she asked her too.

"Thank you." Angela said softly.

"You want to contact them?" Deborah asked her.

"With all that has been going on, I feel I should." Angela explained. She wasn't sure if she was happy about it yet. But she felt she could not longer go around him. Not if she wanted Cassy to know exactly where she came from. And it had become quite clear, Cassy wanted to know.

"Sounds like a plan. Want me to come?" Deborah said, glad Angela made the decision. She felt that her parents had regretted their decision for years, but she just never wanted to instigate anything. It had to come from them.

"Not sure how I want to go about it yet" Angela said.

"Well let me know" Deborah said, concluding the conversation.

"I will. In the mean time, you should really come and see the house" Angela said with a smile.

"I'd like that" Deborah replied with a smile, grabbing her schedule to see when she would be able to come over.

Angela sighed after she hung up the phone. It wasn't one of those tired sighs. It was relief. She was glad she had called her friend. And she had made a choice to resolve all issues from her past. She could not ignore them any longer. She would have to speak to her parents. And she planned to do it before Cassy came home from school. She wanted to be certain of where she and her parents stood. Whichever way it would go, good or bad, she wanted to know. And Cassy deserved to know everything about her life, her family, where she came from. Angela had decided it was time to come clean entirely. To fix her past, in order to move to a better future. She had finally realised that she had barely been living. She had been standing still and that was not an example she wanted to set for her daughter. She needed to start fixing things, but she was not entirely sure she could do t on her own. Thankfully tonight's call made her realise she had friends. True friends. And it was time to let them know what she was planning. She looked at the time and knew it would be too late now, but in the morning she would contact Hermione and Ginny. She would tell them all she had thought off and she would seriously thank them for all they had done for her lately.

"I'm really happy you called her" Ginny said as the women were seated around the table in the kitchen of Hermione.

"Me too, I should have done it much sooner" Angela agreed and smiled. A weight had been lifted of her shoulders and she felt ten times lighter. And younger. As if she really had aged by all the stress of ignoring her feelings. She knew she was in for a whirlwind of feelings, but she was on board with it. It was necessary and in a way very much wanted. Besides her daughter, not much had made her feel joy or sadness or anything really. She was ready to feel again, to live again.

"Have you thought of how you want to go about things?"Hermione asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I'm not sure if going alone is best, but who do I bring that won't put an extra strain on the situation."

"Not me" Ginny said with a smile, "I know very little of muggle life. I'd embarrass you".

"Or you'd bring comic relief during tense moments" Angela said with a chuckle.

"True, I can do that." Ginny agreed and Hermione just shook her head.

"Deborah offered to come along, but I'm not sure I want to pull her in. What if it turns ugly? She has to live in the same town as them. And it's a small town" Angela said. Both her and Ginny then turned to Hermione.

"Me?" Hermione asked in wonder.

"Would you?" Angela asked a little timidly.

"Of course I would! In a heartbeat. Anything to help you" Hermione said, "I'd just have to see what Ron's schedule is, for Hugo."

"I could watch them" Ginny offered.

"But you also have a job" Hermione said.

"True, but I could easily work from home. Or take the kids to a game, depending on when you will go. " Ginny said.

"Guys, no matter when or how , I really appreciate all you've done for me. I know I've not always been very grateful. Well I was, I just didn't show it enough." Angela said looking both girls in the eyes as she spoke those words.

"Don't be silly. That's what friends are for" Hermione exclaimed.

"Sure, but you guys barely knew me at the start of this" Angela countered. At this point they could say they were friends, but they took care of her before they were.

"Well perhaps we're just amazing" Ginny joked.

"you are" Angela said with a big smile, then lowered her eyes to her tea. She felt a little silly for being so emotional about it but she felt it needed to be said.

Behind them the door opened and shut again, signalling that the Ron had come home from work. Hermione go up to greet him with a smile and a kiss. He had brought Hugo with him, who quickly said hello and ran up the stairs to his room. Seconds later, loud music could be heard through the door. Hermione shook her head but didn't go up to turn the volume down. Ron just shrugged it off.

Both Ginny and Angela got up. It was time to go home. Harry would be home by now as well with the kids and Ginny still needed to start dinner. Angela luckily only had to think of herself and she felt that tonight ordering in would do just fine. She didn't feel like cooking. Mostly, because she was already getting hungry.


	32. Memo 2

Hi everyone,

It's been forever since I updated. But I haven't forgotten about this chapter!

For a while I could not find the right words for this chapter. I am wrapping the story up and I want to make it a smooth ending, nothing choppy. However I don't want to go to fast.

Then I got myself a new job which takes up soooo much time I hardly have time to have a social life.

I am working on chapter 30 though. I hope it will be up within a week or two.

Sorry for the wait!

Once it is all done, I will find a beta. I had one but somehow lost her again haha...so I guess I'll just finish the story without a beta.

X0X0


	33. Chapter 30

**Tomorrow is another day**

* * *

_Chapter 30_

* * *

"Don't ever let her get to you" Rose exclaimed as she talked to Cassy about the events at dinner.

"I...don't know how" Cassy said looking at her hands. They'd been having this conversation for days now and Cassy still struggled with the threats made to her. She wasn't tough like Rose. If it came down to it, she knew she would lose to a girl like Amber. In fact, she was pretty sure, she would lose to anyone. She wasn't proud of it, but she knew it was the truth. She wasn't even close to tough.

"We'll just make sure you won't be alone" Abigail said and gave her friend a big smile. Cassy smiled. Abby was tough as well. It made her feel better to know these two girls promised to stand by her side. She feared Amber. Amber was older. And she was a pureblood witch. Though she knew they were not necessarily better than muggleborns, it did mean that amber had more knowledge. Knowledge was power, that much Cassy knew.

"Abby, you can't babysit me" Cassy said, knowing full well that she was a sitting duck without her friends. She just did not want to be a burden on her friends.

"I'm in all of your classes and I'm your friend. You better get used to me following you around" She said and Cassy could not help but smile.

She still wasn't used to having friends. These girls were so incredibly kind to her and here Cassy was whining and being scared. She wondered if she deserved their friendship. She felt like Rose and Abby had been keeping her from falling all year. Soon she would have to grow tougher and return the favour.

"The other girls have noticed something is off though" Abigail said.

"What do you mean?" Rose wondered.

"Well Cassy has been more closed off to them and they can tell. She has been a bit down and they worry" Abigail said and shrugged. She did not know what to tell them any more. It would just be easier if they told them the truth. Still, she knew it would not be better for Cassy. And thus she kept her mouth shut and came up with any lie she could think off.

* * *

"So what do we know?" Amber asked her friends and together they began their list. They were sitting by the lake in the setting sun. It was almost time for dinner and classes were now over for everyone. Amber looked around at the group of eight girls. They mostly came from her house, but she didn't discriminate. If you liked to gossip you were in. Amber liked causing trouble and so did most of her friends. Knowledge was power and she knew all the gossip.

"He was gone from the house for a small period" the girl to her right said. Amelia. Her friend since day one. Her long black her glistened beautifully in the orange light of the setting sun. Amber smiled to herself. She liked surrounding herself with pretty people. Amelia fit the bill perfectly.

"Scorpius suddenly stopped being friends with that Ravenclaw" another girl said. Amber could not remember her name, but it did not matter. After this piece of gossip was spread, any of them were fair game again. Only Amelia and Amber were ever truly safe.

"They both look sad" said a more quiet blonde girl. She was Slytherin, so Amber was sure she should know her. Then the girl smiled a little more sinister and she remembered. Samantha. She was quiet but required all the best gossip.

"He blames her" said another girl.

"she is taking the blame" Amelia countered.

"Sure but let's be honest, she is the kind of girl that would take all the blame if she thought that would be easier on everyone." said Samantha.

"true. Still he blames her." Amber said.

"I still think we should ask her" Amelia said. She was always good at making people confide in her.

"that Weasley girl won't leave her side." Amber countered. And they knew Rose was not easily fooled. She would not trust Amelia.

"They can't protect her forever" Said Amelia.

"OR we could take a different route" said a new voice.

"Like what?" Amber whipped her head around and looked at the direction of the voice. She knew this girl. She was in Ravenclaw. She had seen her with Cassy.

"spread a story and see how they will react" the girl said with a smile. She looked so sweet and kind, but Amber could tell that this girl was rather selfish. She liked her already.

"Come up with a story ourselves?" Amelia replied. She did not believe in lies. She figured nothing would hurt like the truth.

"Yes" the girl said.

"I like how you think" Amber said and patted the ground beside her, "What's your name?"

"I thought you would, I am Jessica" Jessica smiled. She hated that there was something she did not know. And now she could kill to birds with one stone. She would find out what Cassy and Abby had been hiding. And she could finally become friends with the popular crowd in school.

"Aren't you friends with Cassy?" Amelia asked.

"Merely roommates." Jessica said and sat down between the two popular girls.

* * *

It was early on a Saturday when Cassy wondered the halls alone. Everyone had still be asleep but she could not remain in her bed. The school year wasn't too far from ending now. She wanted to be good with Scorpius again. She just did not know how to do that. How do you speak to a boy that won't speak to you?

"Cassy what are you doing up?" A familiar voice called out and Cassy quickly turned around. There stood James, with the bright smile he usually wore.

"Just wandering" she replied and he sped up to walk next to her.

"Come to training with me. These walls are far to glum to wander." James said looking around and Cassy chuckled. James loved being outside. He always felt restricted inside. He would always make up excuses for the group to go outside. Even during the winter. She could still feel the pain of frozen feet if she thought back on it.

"And what would I do during your training?" More than the outside, James liked company.

"Keep score" he said with a shrug and she laughed. She wondered how he would go about his training. Shoot the ball and then fly fast to stop it again?

"Why are you training anyway, you're not on any team." she asked him as they stopped by a window and looked outside.

"But next year, I could be." he said full of confidence.

"Got to be prepared?" she asked and he gave her a goofy smile.

"Exactly." he smiled and she shrugged. Being alone had not been as comforting as she hoped it would have been.

* * *

Scorpius looked as Cassy walked away with James. He had wanted to talk to her. He had been wandering, like her. When he saw her, he felt the urge to talk to her. She had been such a good listener. He missed their talks. He missed being her friend.

Then came James and he stopped. James would not let him near her, not after the way he had been treating her. He could not blame her friends for keeping her safe. He would have done the same. Cassy brought out the protective side of people. She was too kind. And he had been horrible to her.

He promised himself he would try next time. Or have Tom help him. People liked Tom. Rose liked Tom well enough, he thought.

* * *

"Have you heard?"

"What?"

"His father, a cheater"

"Really?"

"Met her at the train station"

"Seriously?"

"Yes, a muggle"

"Merlin"

"Know who's mother?"

"Who?"

"Hers"

* * *

The whispers started the next morning as they were in the great hall. Cassy could feel the stares. The cruel whispers and the harsh looks she was receiving. She could hardly bring herself to remain seated. She looked at her plate and felt Abby's hand on hers. She had wanted to run out earlier but Abby had stopped her.

"Don't run out" Abigail had said.

"Why not?" Cassy had wondered as she grabbed her bag, ready to bolt.

"There are teachers here. Amber won't do anything here" Abigail reasoned. She knew they were better off here. In full view of friends and foes and teachers.

"Seems like she already did." Cassy had replied but she sat back down anyway.

Over the course of breakfast, more of her friends had taken a seat around her. It helped knowing they were here, but she still felt so vulnerable and weak. Rose sat down opposite of her, to be able to see the great hall better. She acted a bodyguard. Louis smiled at her and sat down besides Rose, while James sat down next to Cassy. She never had known a group of friends like this, but she liked it.

To her surprise some more people sat down besides them. There was Molly, who brought some friends as well. Teddy and Victoire and Dominique. She hardly knew these people, but they still stood by her. It was a good feeling.

"Want to hear the rumour?" Dominique said casually. Every head turned in her direction and she laughed, "Seriously, it's so ridiculous I don't see why people take it seriously."

"Well tell us anyway" James said and Cassy looked up at Dominique. Her eyes were pleading, but she could not utter a word. The second year, however, would probably be able to see the pleads.

"Fine, but don't shoot the messenger" Dominique said before informing them what the rumour entailed.

Apparently people thought Draco had cheated on Astoria with Angela. They had met at the station for the first time and quickly began their affair. Astoria found out and threw him out of the house. He briefly lived with the Zabini's, before going to Cassy's house. Eventually Astoria took him back and he broke off all contact with Angela.

Cassy could feel the tears forming in her eyes. That was the story people were telling? She looked around for the first time and could see Amber laughing at something that Jessica said. She caught Jessica's eye and the girl had the decency to look back guiltily.

Cassy got up from the seat and walked out of the great hall. She did not want them to see her tears.

* * *

Amber quickly got up and followed her out. The other girls, she had been sitting with, not far behind her. Rose, Abby and James jumped up before the rest noticed what was going on. The others were too stunned by the story and Cassy's reaction to it. Something was going on and they had known it, but they never thought it had anything to do with the Malfoy's. They now knew it did.

Rose wanted to run, but other had gotten up from their seats to witness the coming fight. They could all feel it brewing. James started pushing people aside and Rose followed his lead, while Abby walked behind them apologising.

They reached Cassy, just as Amber was asking Cassy how it felt, that her mother was a home wrecker. Cassy could not stop the tears from flowing and James felt the urge to punch someone.

"Her mother is not a home wrecker" Scorpius said loud enough for everyone to hear, "I don't know who your sources are, but this story is ludicrous." he added.

"It sure got her to react. So something is going on here" Amber said with a smirk on her face.

"You're right. Something is going on. But you are not even close to the truth." Scorpius spat at her. He stepped out from the crowd and stood beside Cassy. He looked her crying figure and sighed.

"Seriously, what is your problem." he asked her and she laughed.

"I just want to know" Amber said innocently as her friends stood around her smirking.

"Why?" Rose wondered.

"Knowledge is power" Amber said simply. Cassy looked up, that had crossed her mind as well. Knowledge was power, but she never thought gossip would be considered knowledge.

"So did your father live with them for a few weeks during Christmas?" Amelia jumped in.

"No, he was at home during Christmas." Scorpius said.

"Your father cheated on your mother." Amelia said now. She liked confronting people.

"No he didn't" Scorpius said simply.

"Then why did your mother send him away?" Amber asked him.

"She didn't" Scorpius said, knowing it was a lie, but he could not share the truth with her, even though she clearly already knew it.

"Yes she did" Amelia said.

"Who is your mother Cassy? What is she to Mr. Malfoy?" Amber asked. She didn't want the focus on Scorpius. It was Cassy she was after.

"He's..." Cassy began but she did not know what to say. Scorpius looked at her and knew exactly what to say. He just hoped she would forgive him.

"He's is Cassy's father" Scorpius said and the crowd fell completely silent, "Happy now Amber?"

Everyone responded differently. While most thought it was fascinating, some found it hard to believe that a Malfoy dated a muggle. James looked shocked at Rose, but got confirmation from her eyes.

"So he did cheat on your mother?" Amber said and laughed. She had not expected him to give her this information.

"No, this was before they married." He replied. He knew this news would have gotten out eventually. He just wished it would have been during summer break. That way, if he came back to Hogwarts, most people would have moved on from the news already.

Who are you fooling?" Amber said.

"Sure it was" Scorpius said, "it's a simple calculation Amber, don't be stupid."

"What is going on here?" asked professor Longbottom and the crowd quickly dispersed. Leaving a crying Cassy in the midst of her friends.

* * *

**A/N: So, this took much longer than I ever wanted. Sorry guys! It's only a few more chapters and I hope I'll be able to finish them this month. No promises though.**

**Also, I have no Beta, so I apologize for any mistakes! And if anyone wants to beta, pm me!**


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